


Jack's Adventures: Prequel to Adventure

by LuminatedUranium25



Series: Jack's Adventures [1]
Category: Elder Scrolls, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Jack's Adventures, Prequel (Webcomic), The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alcohol Withdrawal, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Cyrodiil, Elder Scrolls Lore, Gen, Humor, Original Character(s), POV Alternating, POV Second Person, Prophecy, Swordfighting, Swords
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-23
Updated: 2019-06-27
Packaged: 2019-08-28 05:03:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 25,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16717058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LuminatedUranium25/pseuds/LuminatedUranium25
Summary: Katia: An alcoholic Khajiit skilled at self-loathing who started a new life... and immediately drank her problems away.Jack: Anvil's 'freak' and outcast who has no book smarts or street smarts, is relatively impulsive and short-tempered.Two of the world's most unlikely individuals have a chance to change the world... or maybe even two.





	1. The Return of The Alcoholic Khajiit

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [PREQUEL](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/434996) by Kazerad(?). 



> I'm not too familiar with the Elder Scrolls lore, so forgive me if I get anything wrong. It would be best if you could point it out to me and I could change it.
> 
> And, in a sense, I'll learn more about the lore! Both in research and comments! Take that, school! I don't need you, anymore!!!

        Your name is Katia Managan. You are a Khajiit.

        Half a week ago, you arrived at the province of Cyrodiil for a second attempt at life. One that wasn’t filled with alcohol. One that wasn’t filled with giant sexcapades. One where you could escape your old life. When you arrived, it had seemed too good to be true. You instantly succumbed to your alcoholic addiction multiple times, experienced robbery firsthand _twice_ , and found yourself caught in many instances of near death. You’re surprised you still have a new life to lead after these first few days.

        However, recent events seem to be looking up. You just ended a terrible, potion-enhanced woman from obtaining all-power, or whatever. You finally took your letter back to Anvil and walked right through Quill-Weave’s door with the letter in hand, ready to prove to your friend that you don’t completely suck in every way possible. Now, you stand there, ready for her reaction.

        "You’re back," she says, surprised. She would have her jaw dropping if she weren’t someone like herself.

        So, do you have the letter? You do, you reply. You also have the replacement book to boot. She might be simply ecstatic on the inside, but she only appears calmly excited. She compliments you on a job well done and thanks you for getting the book, thrilled that not only did you come back in one piece, but you managed to deliver her letter, get her book, and hey, those clothes look different than when she last saw you. You explain that it is a long story. She replies that, sure, it’s a long story, but probably a good one. She offers you to sit down and tell her all about it.


	2. The Jack Shack

        You are now a stupid fucking idiot. Your name? You have no idea what your _birth_ name is, but locals have called you Jack for as long as you can remember.

        The locals...

        They constantly laugh at you. Laughing. Always laughing. Everyone in town made it seem like its your fault that you’re such a fuckup. Maybe it is. Everyone convinced you that their deaths were _your_ fault. You believed them. You had no one else _to believe_. Certainly not that voice in your head.

        So, you continued your days in regret. You stayed far from town in a neat little shack you built yourself. You call it The Jack Shack. Every so often, thieves come by and raid your belongings. Okay, not _every so often_. Maybe once or twice a week? It doesn’t matter because you barely spend any time on the inside anymore. Those thieves had beat that into you.

        No, you now reside mostly in town. There are far more interesting events going on in town anyways, especially when there is work to be done. People ask you to do odd jobs all the time. At first, no one wanted your help. Everyone was afraid their request would end in disaster. However, a nice Argonian—you can never seem to recall her name—had requested of you to take a letter across town and deliver it. So what if people gave her dirty looks for the following week? So what if the receiver didn’t want the letter because he believed it had been tainted by you? So what if the request ended in inevitable disaster? Confirming people’s beliefs seemed to work, and work you shall.

        You barely make enough to get by every day. You’re lucky if you get proper food and water. However, as bad as life might seem, it is all you’ve ever known. You don’t strike up any conversations because you’d rather not end up in jail. Again. You don’t want to look anyone in the eye because you’d rather not end up in jail. Again. You just don’t like jail. That’s a positive: you’re not in jail right now!

        Currently, you’re chopping trees down for wood. You think an expansion of The Jack Shack is just what you need to keep you occupied. You couldn’t afford an ax, so you mercilessly clawed away at the tree. Khajiit? No, you know that you’re a human. Of course, it would be easier if you were a Khajiit. Maybe you could talk to one in town—jail. Maybe you could write a note describing to it what you—jail. No matter what you think of to request the help of a Khajiit, it always ends in jail… Jail… and you’d rather be anywhere else.

        You want this tree’s wood, though. Making an expansion to The Jack Shack would definitely burn up a lot of time. Plus, it would really help you and your plan. You have a plan to make the property look salable, so you can sell it and make just enough for a boat ride out of Cyrodiil. You want to explore the world, but your budget doesn’t really permit that. It has been your lifelong goal to travel the rest of Tamriel and then some. You have seen pictures of the lands, and when you pointed to it and asked what it was, people who didn’t quite know you replied “Tamriel”. The thought always gets you so excited.

        You know what? Who cares about that stupid jail thing with the stupid townsfolk and their... _stupidness_! You're going to march down to Anvil and find a Khajiit to help you claw this tree down or you swear to the Nine that—AHHH!!!!

        After having a bit of a crisis, you get up and dust your rags off. You quickly scan the nearby area, looking for anything jutting out that caused your fall. The only thing you see, though, is a brown… _something_ sticking out of the ground. Maybe it’s a stick! It’s a sign from the Nine! You can use it for your shack! You grasp the brown object and yank backward, landing on your butt again. You quickly curse, stand back up, and resume pulling on the object. On the tenth try, it finally breaks free. Hey, looks like your undying persistence has come in handy.

        Bummed that it's not a stick, you quickly scan the book. It looks like an ordinary book. You peel back the cover and flip through the first pages. Nothing seems out of the ordinary. It’s just a bunch of words. You get to a point in the book with a picture, though. It is a picture of a bunch of circles and triangles. You note the cool design and flip the book closed. Only then does the book begin to glow. Light cascades out of the crease where that page was. You open the book from the light bookmark only to discover the hieroglyphic shapes rotating and twisting about off the page. You tell yourself to reach out and grab the mysterious shapes to make sure it’s real, and someone didn’t just tamper with your water again. However, the mystical and alluring colors and shapes lull you into a state of ease. You ease up your previous tension and lay back, staring deeply into the shapes.

        Something from the book seems to be communicating with you. You have been sitting here for—what—3 hours now? You don’t know. You just nonchalantly look around you to see the dark, night sky. Wasn’t it just midday? Maybe it has been longer than 3 hours. The book now lets out a faint whisper. You try your best to understand whatever the whisper is saying. It is too faint, though, and you doubt you’d understand what it is even saying—it sounds as though it is in a different language.

        As you move closer and closer in an attempt to hear it better, the book grabs your consciousness. It squeezes it until it breaks under pressure. The book forces your head backward and, from what last remaining moments of consciousness you have left, you feel a sharp pain in the back of your head. The pain feels foreboding, as it travels with you into your subconscious.

        You’re on a large, white tile that stretches forever into the horizon. Nothing exists. The floor doesn’t reflect anything. There are no lines or markings on the floor. The sky, well what you could call a sky, doesn’t appear to say much of anything either. If you didn’t feel the effects of gravity right now and if your toes didn’t feel anything beneath them, you wouldn’t be surprised if you felt like you were floating.

        You first freak out. You have no idea what’s going on. _What is happening?_ You need an explanation for where you are right now. You yell out into the sky for anyone to hear. You hope for a response, but you’re not fortunate enough to get one. You sift through your memories and knowledge. Maybe something like this has happened to someone before.

        Right then, it clicks. You’re having a dream. A _real_ dream. Not a prank, drug-induced dream. A real, tangible dream. You heard that people have these kinds of things before. You get a little excited having been finally experienced one. You’re a little tired of this, though.

        You think of what life will be like when you finally get your money. You close your eyes. You imagine yourself on the front of a boat. You’re sailing through the ocean, cutting through the waves in your way. Distant, foreign lands lay in front of you. Your imagination tries its best to recreate the scene. It is amazing, and you can’t wait to experience it in… _your dream!_ You quickly open your eyes! The scene should be unfolding before you, but… but… it isn’t. You close your eyes again. This time, you really think hard about it. The blueness of the ocean. The seagulls flying by. The sails flapping in the wind. The creaking of slightly rotted wood. You, again, open your eyes to the blank, empty world...

        Wait. Hold on. It’s not empty. A dark blue haze has encompassed the white realm. Certainly a needed change of scenery. The blue haze moves sporadically… wait, no… now it’s moving somewhere. The fog’s destination… is behind you. You quickly turn around to see a blue orb pulling in the surrounding blue haze. It becomes more apparent and opaque the more it sucks in, increasing at an exponential rate until it violently gushes out a powerful burst of air. It’s enough to knock you off your feet. You sit back up to peer back at the mystical, blue orb. Dreams are weird, you conclude. Movement from the orb catches your eye. It seems like it’s happening behind the orb. No… the orb itself is moving. No, wait… the orb is stationary. Something inside of the orb is moving.

        You get back up and run over to the orb. It isn’t as big as it once seemed. You squint into the orb, slowly leaning in all the while. You try to make out what you see. It’s… not crystal clear, but nonetheless holds figures and shapes that you can make out. You see a man dressed in green. Strange, considering you never imagined a green man in your dreams. He appears to be pulling something. Before you can figure it out, the scene changes.

        The green man is no longer visible. A different man now stands before you. He holds his own sword and shield, aggressively so. He appears to be looking at you. He swings his sword. You reel back, flinching at the sharp, forged metal coming at you. You hear a sound though. It’s of a monster; the armed man’s real target. He slashes with ease, killing it effortlessly. Man, how you wish you could do heroic acts like that.

        As soon as you think that thought, the blue orb absorbs you. An ungodly light surrounds you. It becomes brighter until you close your eyes. You yell out for help. You feel as if you might suffocate. You feel like you’re going to die. That is... until you wake up.  
        You’re breathing heavily and in a cold sweat. You sit up, the book in your lap keeping your legs down. The _book!_ You open the book up again. The weird page still exists, except for the fact that it now has a single tally in the middle of it. You shudder at what it might represent. You stow away the book into your handy bag and continue on to town to search for a Khajiit that might be willing to help you. Even though you have no idea where to start, your bag seems to… magically _pull_ you in a certain direction.


	3. A Postpone of Fate

        Your bag pulls you all the way to the Northwest of Anvil; the opposite side of the town. You haven’t been over here in years. The last time was when you were desperately looking for odd jobs. The lady with the letter lived over here. You wonder if you’ll run into her again. This side of town isn’t as harsh on you; only some rude looks and bewildered double takes. You wonder if any of them might need a job to get done. You stop short of a small house near the edge of the town. It has a total of two stories, a kind of building you’ve never been in. It is also very structurally sound and has a door; two things you also haven’t experienced on a building.

        You walk up to the door to knock. You listen in to see if anyone is home. You hear faint talking. Good. You’ll start here and work your way back to the shack, looking for Khajiits along the way. You rap on the door sporadically. You’ve never knocked on a door before. You use both hands to slap and knock on the door at the same time. The faint talking cuts off. You hear walking, as well as creaking wood. The door opens, and you immediately avoid eye contact.

        Hello, you say. You’re here looking for the assistance of a Khajiit. You were wondering if one lives here. Well, well, well, she responds. _She?_ The voice sounds familiar. Is it that one lady? You tear your eyes away from your feet to look at her. It is! Hello, you say excitedly. You didn’t know it was her. You awkwardly hold out your hand to shake hers. Her opposing hand is currently holding something, so you quickly switch hands. She quickly switches the hand that holds the _something_ , postponing the handshake even further. You quickly switch back to your other hand and end the handshake before it continues any longer.

        So, she says, is work finding its way to you? Yes, you reply. Ever since she gave you that job, people have been asking for help. You always have something to do for money. During the conversation, you see movement behind her. You glance behind her shoulder and see a Khajiit. You quickly dart your eyes away and back to the Argonian lady.

        You’re sorry, you say, but you never got her name. Quill-Weave, she says. _Quill-Weave._ The name sinks into your mind. No one has ever given you their name before. The Khajiit behind her butts in. You’re looking for a Khajiit, she asks. Yes, you say. You look to your feet as she comes closer. It’s okay, she says. You can look at her. You allow your eyes to float upwards to match her gaze. So, what is it you want, she asks. You hesitate for a moment, but not a moment sooner.

        As soon as you open your mouth to speak, commotion occurs in your peripheral vision. You look over to see the object in Quill-Weave’s hand missing. You swing your head to look to your right. A thief is running off with her notepad. How do you know it’s a notepad? Because—

        That thief just stole my notepad, she yells. She readies her bow to shoot at the thief. It isn’t making great distance. Seeing the thief run away with her belongings, the lady that gave you a chance to make it in this town, it infuriates you. You wave to her. Don’t shoot, you say. You’ll handle this. You take off after the thief, pursuing an all-out chase.

        It crosses over into the main street of the town. The stone pavement presses hard against your feet. Quill-Weave and the Khajiit follow you. The thief leaps up into the air and lands on the roof of one of the buildings. Quill-Weave decides to shoot at it but misses every shot. Five arrows now poke out of the side of the building. Getting a running start, you jump onto the first arrow. It doesn’t immediately give way, but you quickly make it to the next one. And the next one. You make it to the last one and grab onto the roof. You hoist yourself up and continue the chase.

        The thief glances behind themselves. You’re still hot on their trail. He notices and picks up the pace. He rockets across a gap, landing on another roof. You effortlessly do the same. You’d question your recent ability of acrobatics, but right now you’re busy. Reaching the end of the block, the thief jumps clean off of the roof into the main square. You slide to the edge of the roof, stopping yourself with your hand. You hit the edge and push yourself off of the wall of the building. You roll and twist in the air, landing on your feet.

        Now in the main square, more people recognize you. They make a path out for you. Never did your outcast status come in handy like this. He swerves around the many people and wagons and barrels in his way. You jump over many of them with ease. He jumps up onto another building. You stop and look around. Quick, that rope! You grab it, apologize to the owner ahead of time, and you… _tie the rope into a lasso_. You never thought your odd jobs would make you knowledgeable like this. You swing it around and toss it upward, snagging a loose piece of wood near the roof. You get a running start and jump around the building. Your momentum swings you around the building. The edge of the building lessens the length of the rope, pulling you slowly upward. You land on the roof of the adjacent building.

        You see him in the distance. He's quite a ways away. You snag the rope back for later use. You assume a sprint once more. You bolt after him, jumping over three more buildings until the end of the block. He makes a hard right, jumping over another building. You can’t stop yourself in time and there’s no way you can make _that_ jump… unless you use your rope. You quickly snag another roof board and you run directly off of the roof. The rope swings you above the street, getting you over the gap. You continue on, grabbing your rope once more. He does it again, and you find yourself running back to the main square. He jumps off, throwing down a plank of wood in your way. You quickly jump and, holding onto a clothesline, swing over the plank. You hit the ground, transitioning into a somersault and continuing the chase.

        The thief runs around the center tree, trying to outrun you. You, of course, keep on his tail. You seem to be faster than him. The chase ensues like this until he… disappears? You skid to a stop. You look around. He’s nowhere to be seen. You wish you had… some sort of targeting system that could help you pinpoint where he is—he’s in the tree… where did that come from?

        You can’t _see_ him in the tree… but you can _sense_ him in the tree. You eerily focus on his exact position. You climb from branch to branch. The thief must be able to see you now, as your targeting fidgets about. He moves to the left side of the tree. What’s he doing?... Maybe he’s trying to escape as soon as you get up there. You quickly align with the left side of the tree. He can see this as well, for he moves back to the right side of the tree.

        You have to think of something before you get up there… maybe fake him out. You continue climbing up the right side… until… he… _jumps!_ He propels himself from the top of the tree, swinging around in the air. You quickly sidle around the tree and manage to grab his boot. Without both hands now on the tree, you enter an albeit short free fall. He kicks at your hand, trying to make you let go. It does quite the opposite. You strength your grip and, now that your right hand isn’t being used, you grab onto the same foot with your other hand. You both smack into the ground. Your determination to stop him dulls the pain. You did it. You got him.

        He rests on the ground, holding his side. You snatch the notepad from his hands. No, he utters, clearly in pain. Give that back. It’s mine. No, it’s not, you remark. It’s Quill-Weave’s. Speaking of her, she pushes past the crowd of people that has formed, with the Khajiit behind her. You hold out your hand for her to take the notepad. She holds out her hand to grab it, but you’re quickly tackled to the ground by a guard. He lifts you to your feet. Well, well, well, he says. Looks like someone couldn’t resist, could they? It seems like your going back to jail, he states with a weird sense of pleasure. You struggle in his grip, but you know that it’s futile.

        He puts you in shackles. The guard kicks you in the back of the leg. Painfully. You fall to your knees. He forcefully grabs your hair and pulls your head back. Why don’t you just stay in that shack where you belong, he spits. It would be better for everyone, including yourself. Any other day, you would stay quiet. But today, you don’t feel like taking shit anymore. Is this the thanks you get for doing his job for him, you remark. For this, he knees you hard in the face. You’re pretty sure he breaks your nose. You reel back, hitting your head on the stone ground. Everyone cheers the guard on. He grabs your collar and hoists you to your feet. He leans you closer to him. I’m sure you can find your way to the jail, he says in your ear. He follows it up with a punch in the gut. It hurts, and you fall to the ground once more. He walks away as your hack up your lung.

        Stop, you hear. The voice is very aggressive. You look over to the sender of the remark. It’s the Khajiit. She has a foreboding look to her. You look back over to the guard, who has stopped his usual gait. He slowly turns around. Who said that, he says aloud to no one in particular. She did, she says. He chuckles to himself. He doesn’t need to worry about a scaredy cat like her, he remarks. She hisses at him. Before she does anything, Quill-Weave gets in front of her. She whispers something to her. You can’t exactly make it out, but you think she’s defusing the situation as best she can.

        Quill-Weave sidesteps out of the Khajiit’s way, hoping whatever she said will keep her at bay. The Khajiit requests that the guard unshackles you. No way in hell, he says. Do it or she’ll beat the living shit out of him. Is that a threat, Khajiit? He unsheathes his sword. He runs at her, flailing his sword about. She readies herself. You, however, feel your instincts kick in. The same instincts that helped you nab the thief, who is nowhere to be seen. You… _target_ the guard. You run up and into his path. Even though the shackles are behind you, you effortlessly aim them high. The guard impulsively slashes at you, now that you are in his way. His blind fury is brought down with his sword. The chain goes flying and you gain back your ability to use your hands. You quickly somersault out of the way and turn around. The guard lets out a manly roar of sorts and charges at you. He swings with his sword. The blade comes about an inch away from your face before it stops. You look over to the Khajiit. She’s a mage. She stopped the blade from hitting you. The force the guard put into his torso brings him to the ground as the sword remains hanging in the air. You sweep your leg across his dangling arms. He falls the rest of the way to the ground. She lets go of the sword, letting it fall right into your hands. You take a few steps back as the guard rises to his feet.

        I don’t care about earlier, he says, but disarming a guard is definitely illegal. You state that arresting someone for being the town’s outcast is illegal, and you’d equally love to report that to his commanding officer as well. Point taken, he responds. Here’s your sword, you say. You chuck it back at him. He catches it and stows it away. He turns to leave, but stops and compliments you on your fighting skills. Oh. Wow. Thanks, you say back. He comments about how you should join the town’s guard force. You respond, saying you’ll think about it. He walks off, with a little pep in his step. Was he trying to…?

        You turn to the townsfolk. Some look confused. Some look terrified. Some look awed. They don’t know what to feel, because someone they thought was terrible just stood up for himself in the name of equality. Scatter, you announce. Slowly, everyone walks off or preoccupies themselves with whatever they were doing before. You pick up the notepad and hand it back to Quill-Weave, properly this time. Thank you, she says. I’m sorry you had to go through—you cut her off. You tell her it was no big deal. She once did you a favor. You thought it would be best if you returned it. She thanks you one last time. Now, what was that about a Khajiit? You turn to _said_ Khajiit. She moves closer to you. Now that you can actually see her in the sunlight, you silently remark to yourself her appearance. Her fur is matted in certain places. She has a few cuts on her. She wears a green robe, signifying her abilities in the magic arts. Her ears move downward in anticipation of what you have to say.

        Just as you open your mouth, yet again, you feel something vibrating on you. You look to your bag for answers. It happens to be glowing. You open it up and peer inside. The book is glowing again at that crease. You tell her to hold on. You grab your book and pull it out. You flip to the page that’s glowing. Cool, she says, are you a mage, too? You respond that you aren’t. You just happened to find this book lying on the ground. Why is it glowing like that, she asks. Glowing, Quill-Weave interjects. Can’t you see it? This page has floating shapes and stuff. Weird, she says, I don’t see anything.

        What about her, you ask. Can she see it? She says she can. What does it mean? You tell her you don’t know, but you want to find out. Well, Quill-Weave says, she is a little hungry after all that chasing. She asks if you would like to go back to your house for a meal…

        ...Food?


	4. Food For Thought

        You, as well as Quill-Weave and the Khajiit, walk back to Quill-Weave’s house. You manage to get her name on the way back. Katia, you say, letting her name sink in. She explains how she had led a life before becoming Katia. She goes on to say that she didn’t like her old life and came to Cyrodiil for another chance to turn things around. “Did you”, you ask. She doesn’t comment. Maybe she’s still figuring out if her new life is better. She clears the awkward silence by asking about your past. A concerned look crosses Quill-Weave’s face, as she already knows about your past. You tell her it’s not that interesting, and that you don’t want to bore her. Oh. Okay. The walk back continues in silence. 

        “…So, how did you meet Quill-Weave”, you ask. She… doesn’t really want to talk about it. She goes on to talk about a letter delivery, and how it didn’t go quite as planned. “Still asking new people to deliver things for you, Quill-Weave?” She uncomfortably rolls her shoulders… “Yes, I suppose”, she responds. You don’t want to press her on the matter. She seems a little uncomfortable right now.

        You finally make it back to her house. You feel like someone like Quill-Weave would definitely have a bigger house. Maybe she’s more modest than you thought. She invites you into her dining room… dining room? What’s that, you ask. Katia laughs at that. She says it’s the room  _ their _ currently in. Oh, so the room you aren’t in, you ask. You don’t even need an answer. You quickly move into the room they're in. As soon as you do, something hits you. Right in the nostrils.

        You take a deep breath, letting the aroma settle in for maximum pleasure. You ask what that amazing smell is. You’ve never smelled something as amazing as this. She says she’s putting together a stew right now. It was just going to be for herself and Katia, but she can just add more ingredients. Oh. You hate being a burden like this. Anytime anyone goes out of there way for you… you just hate yourself. You hate yourself for requiring people to put forward extra work you, even for things like food and water. Maybe it’s just how you grew up. Yeah, that sounds about right. You blame it on your upbringing.

        After asking Quill-Weave if she’s sure she doesn’t need help with anything for the fifth time, you sit next to Katia. You take the book, wanting to conversate on it more. It seems even Quill-Weave wants to listen in on this. You start by telling her about  _ your _ experience with it. You opened it up and stared at the shapes. After a while, it induced a coma on you. In the coma, you saw a blue orb, which played out some sort of scene in it. Then, it swallowed you whole. “Wait. What?” You ask her what she means. “What swallowed you whole”, she asks. You tell her the orb did. “How does that work?... Is it like a bubble that traps you, or did it kind of fold around your body like—”, you tell her that it’s not that important. You continue by noting that Quill-Weave was unable to see it. You ask her if she knows anything about herself that’s unique.

        “Well, I’m an Atronach.” You ask her what that is. Since you don’t know, she concludes that it doesn’t matter. “Well, I know what I  _ am _ that Quill  _ isn’t _ .” She looks over at…  _ Quill _ to see if she evoked a reaction. She turns away from her cooking pot. Quill thinks about it… a little more… she quickly goes red in the face. “Don’t you dare say it.” She says she’s only kidding. You insist—anything at all could prove a link between you and her, which will explain why only  _ they _ can see the page move. She says it  _ really _ doesn’t matter. You move on, you guess.

        As you think of any other explanations, Quill finishes with the food. She grabs bowls for the meal. “Are you  _ sure _ you’re  _ not _ a mage?” You tell her you're not really sure, as you never really delved into the magical arts. She thinks about it, then waves the possibility away. She says to confirm if you're a wizard, there’s a lengthy process to go through. You move on in your thoughts—WOAH! Quill places a filled bowl right in front of you. Before you dig in, you ask, “Is it okay if I eat like a slob? I was never taught any manners, so…”. Quill allows you to eat. You don’t even know why you asked that question. She’s not your mother.

        She places a bowl down for Katia and one for herself. Now that everyone has something to eat, you allow yourself to have at it. You pick up your spoon and begin to shovel heaping spoonfuls of stew into your mouth. You quickly swallow it to allow for the next spoonful to be easily shoved into your mouth. Within 10 seconds, you’re done. You look up from your bowl to see Quill and Katia staring at you.  _ Why _ are they staring at you like that? Is there something on your face? You quickly wipe your face with your sleeve.

        “Another point I need to bring up is how the book was sort of…  _ pulling _ me toward this house… more specifically, toward you, Katia.” She stares at you in disbelief. It sounds like what you’re suggesting is that she’s part of some big adventure, which she isn’t; she’s just a Khajiit trying to get her life together. At least this is what she tells you. You know she’s wrong though. Within the first few moments you’ve known her, she stood up for you and saved your life from a devastating sword attack. You don’t know her all that well, but you can tell that she’s someone who relentlessly tries her best day-in and day-out. You can  _ feel _ it. No… not like the targeting… this feeling stretches to your soul… to the edges of the universe and beyond.

  
        Then it clicks. The similarity you two share… you better not say it right now. Just in case she isn’t the person you say she is. She thanks you for the kind words, but she really isn’t someone like that. Quill just watches this unfold. You ask her what she’s done recently. Anything that she’s done to save those other than herself. Anything acts of heroic stature with benefits that stretch beyond those of herself. She thinks about it… She abruptly stands. “Listen… I don’t know who you think you are…” She sounds on the verge of tears. “Coming in here and talking about me… like you  _ know _ me…” She closes her eyes. “Get out.” “Katia, please—” “GET OUT!” You back off into the other room. You think of something to say… something to say that will leave her thinking… that might change her mind… “You seemed hesitant about if your new life was better for you or not… and you're completely right. Comparing your old life and your new life is irrelevant. You should instead look to the future… and make your  _ now _ life the best it could ever be.” You walk out of the house, closing the door behind you. You don’t know what you meant by what you said in there, but you just hope it’s enough to get her to think. As you walk toward your shack, you note the rain now precipitating down. You also note the clouds to the South. They look, well gray… and a little purple. You don’t know why. You shift your focus back to the rain. Looks like it’s going to be The Wet Jack Shack tonight… okay, maybe not worded like  _ that _ …


	5. A Second Chance

        You are now the Khajiit, who goes by the name of Katia.

        You can’t believe that man! He came in here and acted like he _knew_ you! How dare he! You currently stomp around the room, venting to Quill, who sip— _chugs_ down a mead. Apparently, the evening is getting to her, too. She tells you that it’s all in your head. But, he talks about this greater purpose… and you’re certainly _no_ greater-purpose person. Quill comments about her doubts. “I doubt that.” You ask her what she means. “You went to _deliver a letter_ and ended up stopping, from what I hear, a charmed-up, all-powerful wannabe _bitch_ that had control over the entire town.” Yeah, but… “Not to mention that you used her _own_ charm magic against her with the help of a skeleton you managed to conjure on the second day of becoming a mage all the while blind from a terrible cape.” She takes a breath. “So, _are_ you a ‘greater-purpose’ person? No. _Could_ you be one? As I said, I have my doubts, but…” she trails off, taking after gulp of her mead. “Even if you don’t think you’re a ‘greater-purpose’ person, it’s not about what you think.” She takes another gulp. “It’s about what you _do_.” Wow. That was incredibly wise. She takes it as a compliment.

        Now, you’re crossed about what to do. You mean, you _did_ kind of just yell at him. She thinks about it… this is your best friend and, from what you know, best friends usually guide their best friends in the _best_ way possi— “What you _should_ do is come down with me to the bar.” ... _What_ ? Come on, she says. Hang out with her and her friends. You notice that she is on her fifth mead already. You didn’t even see the middle three. She finishes the fifth one and continues onto her sixth one as you think about your choices; go find Jack, _don’t_ go find Jack, or hang out with Quill at the local bar where you will _most definitely_ get drunk. **…** You think about it and if you stay away from the alcohol, you might have a good time with Quill. Plus, she’s seen you drunk, so you wonder what she’s like.

**You are now the human… named Jack.**

        You lay on your bed… well, it’s more of a wooden plank on more wooden planks. The rain leaks through your terribly-constructed roof. You ponder the current situation while rain constantly drips onto your face. She still hasn’t swung around, yet. You added the ‘yet’ so you don’t feel completely hopeless. You also added the ‘swung around’ so it sounded like she is your friend… who are you kidding? You’re nothing but a worthless job-doer that isn’t destined to become an adventurer. Why would anyone want to be your friend? You consider going somewhere to wallow away your troubles… maybe the store? You could talk up the storekeeper—jail… wait, maybe not. You might be able to show your face in public again. You don’t want to push it, though, so you decide to go to a place in town where it doesn’t really matter if people notice you or not… because they’re all drunk.

        You arrive at the bar, completely soaked. The rain has only gotten harder and harder. The sky was pitch black and… you could feel a sense of uneasiness when outside. You feel better now that you’re in a bar… you never thought you’d say that. You look around the room, trying to spot someone to strike up a conversation with. Everyone seems to be avoiding you still, though. At least you can look them in the eye. As you survey the room, you spot… Katia? With Quill? You didn’t think either of them drank, but Katia _did_ run away from an old life, so…

        She still looks sober, though. Katia, you mean. Quill looks wasted. If not, she’s tipsy _at best_.

**You are now Katia.**

        You look at one of Quill’s discarded meads, which hasn’t been emptied all the way. You ask if you could have it. “Sure… sure thing, Katia. You didn’t ask to _have_ my bedroom to use for your sexual thingies and whatnot, but you bunked there anyway. How could *hup*... how could this be any different?” Man, she gets really depressed when she’s drunk. As she goes on about how bad of a friend you are, you take her bottle and look at it. There’s only a swallow left in this bottle. It’s just enough to push you over the edge. The question is, should you drink it? **...**

**You are now Jack.**

        As you walk over to there table, you notice Katia hesitantly looking at a bottle of mead in her hand. You don’t think much of it until you see how long she looks at the bottle for. Is she recovering from alcoholism? She has a painful look on her face, even as she brings the bottle to her mouth and—you quickly jolt forward, grabbing the bottle from her. She looks up at you… as she swallows. Dangit. Quill seems to ramble on about something. “—but at least you got that letter delivered.” She looks up at you. “Hey, _Jack_ ,” she says in a mocking tone. Your presence seemed to have sobered her up. “Guess who’s been talking about you this entire time?” You guess Katia. “Ding, ding, ding! Wow, you’ve won a prize. It’s called buying me another mead!” You tell her you're not doing that. “Aww, come on! Such a party pooper. Usually, _I’m_ the one who does that.” Man, she gets really depressed when she’s drunk.

        You slowly tell Quill that Katia just drank some alcohol. She’s not… recovering, is she? “She… what?” Wow. You’ve never seen someone sober up so quickly. “What do you mead?... I mean, mean. What do you mean?!” You tell her she just drank whatever was in this bottle your holding. She asks you where she is now. You look around. She’s at the bar, most likely ordering something. You quickly walk over there, with Quill following you. You tap her on the shoulder, saying her name. She turns around with… water in her hands. “What,” she asks, confused until she realizes who you are.

**You are now Katia.**

        It’s him. He’s come back to ask you again. You know that’s what he’s here for. Oh, it’s him, you say, as deadpan as possible. “Is that water?” Yes, you say. Why? “Oh, I thought…” What? “Nothing…”

**You are now Quill-Weave.**

        There was no alcohol in those bottles. It was just water... Well, the meads at your house weren’t water, but that didn’t matter. You knew Katia would’ve had more temptation at the bar. You also knew Jack frequents this bar about this time of night looking for work… You decide you deserve a mead for a job well done, but not right now.

**You are now Jack.**

        So… while you’re here… you guess you should ask her about helping you. Again. You ask her if she’s thought about it. She goes on to say that she’s sorry for yelling at you and she realized that maybe she might possibly be a _greater-purpose_ person who just might be able to help you figure out the mystery of the book but *breath* she doesn’t know if she really wants to go and— you stop her. You tell her that it’s not that complicated… you are, of course, lying. You tell her it is a simple _yes or no_ question. That’s all you want; a definitive yes or no. She thinks about it… Quill quickly whispers a yes in her direction. Even though Quill is behind you, and thus you’d have no idea if she said anything _visually_ , but you can still hear her. Katia… echoes her words, confirming her stance on helping you, although you feel like she’s still on the fence.

        You turn to Quill, who quickly flexes her face into a stoic look, acting as though she _didn’t_ just mouth something to Katia. Now for the hard part… you ask Quill to come along. Her stoic look flinches into a shocked one. “Me?” You’ve begun to realize that those bottles were fake, so you know she’s sober enough to make the decision. You tell her that she’d be a great addition to the team. “Ever heard of third wheels?” You tell her that’s silly; the only amount of wheels you’ve ever seen is either one or four, and those are on wheelbarrows and carriages. She says she doesn’t mean it like that. She adds that she’s also not good in a fight. You tell her that it doesn’t matter. You really want her to tag along to make sure that you and Katia stay on task. “So, what?... I’m your _mother_ or something?” You tell her it’s not like that. She also has knowledge of the lands, you tell her. You can’t speak for Katia, but you’ve never been outside of Anvil. Quill looks over at Katia. She probably already knows where Katia has been. She considers it for a moment… but still declines your offer. She’d rather stay in Anvil. It’s very peaceful here, she has friends here, and she _says_ she has work that needs to be done, but your comment to yourself that her _work_ is most likely just getting piss drunk. Yep, this is the lady that helped all those years ago. You can never _really_ judge a book by its cover… or, really, it’s first few pages.

        As you attempt to conjure up another reason for her to come with, you hear some commotion outside… very _bad_ commotion. You open the door to peer outside, with Katia and Quill following you. The winds surely have picked up. The wind gust smacks you right in the face. You stumble backwards before planting your footing. You get back over the door and open it again. You shield your face this time from the heavy winds. From what you can see… a giant, purple wall is enveloping the town… before your mind has time to keep up, your body moves into action. You turn around and tell everyone that something is absorbing the town and everyone needs to leave immediately. As you finish, the ground rumbles and shakes violently. _You_ manage to keep your footing, but almost everyone in the bar falls down. Some fall down and get right back up. Some fall down, knocking their heads against corners of tables and bottles of alcohol. Needless to say, about half of the bar’s population is now unconscious. You run over to the nearest person you see, an elf, and you pick them up, throwing them over your shoulder. You tell everyone still up and awake to do the same. As everyone finds an unconscious partner like some sort of dance, you quickly look outside.

        It might be a bad idea to just run straight out into the open. Lightning protrudes from the giant barrier as it slowly moves northward. It’s isn’t _incredibly_ fast. In fact, it’s quite slow. You look around a little more. The torrential downpour hits the ground with such force that an opaque haze covers the ground. Some buildings are on fire from the lightning and, for some reason, the rain won’t put it out. You twist your body to look back inside. You see if everyone is ready… well, everyone looks just about as ready as they’ll ever be. Follow me, you say. You turn back to the door and bolt through it. As people pour out behind you, you look for an optimal way out of town. Going around the main square isn’t a good idea, as you’ll have to dip into the barrier, and you _don’t_ want to do that. You look to your right. A straight shot to the northern gate! This way, you shout, the rain loud enough to make it hard to hear. Come on, you also shout, to make sure everyone hears you. You run toward the gate. Quill, who is skilled at parkour, which you’ve just now realized, is jumping from building to building. You tell her to get down; the higher you are, the more likely the lightning will strike you. She quickly glides down the side of one of the buildings and continues running on foot. She is _much_ faster than you. You notice her taking a glance to her right. It’s her house. She stops and cuts across the crowd to enter her house. You follow her, telling everyone to make it to the gate.

        Now without the sound of rain, you ask her what she’s doing. “I need my notes!” She grabs multiple notepads and, you’re guessing, some first draft books. You ask her if anything important is upstairs. You want to get out of this house as fast as possible, so you tackling upstairs while she gets down here would be most efficient. As you climb the stairs, “There’s nothing really important up there,” but you enter anyway. You make a quick note of the sword in the wall. You walk over to it and grab its handle. You pull… and fall backward. That was easier than you thought. You get up and readjust the body on your shoulder. You go back downstairs to meet Quill, who’s surprised at the sword in your hand. Yeah, it was just sticking out of the wall. Now that I have it, it can be put to good use. She says that she’s been hiring all types of people to pull that sword out, and nobody’s been able to do it. Not even some of the guards… hmm.

        You push past her door, entering the pounding rain once again. Everyone is on the other side of the gate. So is Katia, who’s eagerly waiting at the gate. A look of relief spreads across her face as you and Quill run for the last stretch. You almost make it… when something shifts in the ground in front of you. Both you and Quill skid to a stop. It appears to be some sort of necromancy. The creatures before you have some sort of face mask with hair-like tentacles protruding out from behind their masks. Quill readies her bow that she grabbed from her house. She fits an arrow into it and takes a shot. The arrow hits its target. The creature wails in pain, falling over. Nice shot, you remark to yourself. Now there’s only two. With how easy that one was, this next one can’t be too hard. You grab drop the body down on the ground. Only now do you see a wall around you and these creatures. Someone must be behind this. You ready your sword and walk into swinging range of one of them. You target the enemy and wait for it attack… you quickly backflip, putting you out of reach from its attack. As it finishes its swing, you leap into the air and bring down your sword with two hands. You cut right into the mask. The creature wails into the sky before falling over like his comrade. Nice. Only one more to go—DEAR GODS! You quickly cover your ears. The last alive produces a blood-curdling scream. His friends quickly stand back up. Currently debilitated, one of them swings at you, smacking you into the energy fence. You fall over, clearly in pain. You look at your right shoulder. Blood profusely spills from the wound. You stand back up, even though you’d rather just stay lying down. You decide to think about this logically. You’ll only get this second chance.

        Even when one goes down, they don’t scream until all but one is down. And the scream seems to resurrect them, so… you have to kill them all in one blow. Or, at least knock one down and kill the other two in quick succession. You backup until you reach Quill. “Oh my gods, are you okay?” You tell her that your wound is the least of your worries. You tell her to take another shot at one of them. “Which one?” You tell her it doesn’t matter. “...Okay…” You begin to walk off toward them. “Good luck.” Thanks. You don’t say it out loud but in your head. You make a stance in front of all three of them. You have no idea how you’ll take down two at once. You could try to be quick about it. Quill hits the one on the right. It goes down like earlier. The other two have had enough of your standing around and they both swing at you. Once again, you backflip and leap forward. With one down, you quickly—AHHH!!! You cover your ears again. You could try to kill him while screaming, but you’d rather keep your ability to hear. The other two get back up. All three of them take a slash at you. Now with four wounds, you lie flat on your back. You peer behind you. Quill looks rather worried, but that’s not all. The barrier has been inching up behind her. You tell her to look out. She looks behind her. The barrier catches her off guard, and she steps away from it… into the three monsters. You sit up, wanting to tell her to look out… but this might be your chance. You quickly stand up, taking hold of the situation faster than you can think. You get behind all three of them. This should be easy, but you need something to take them all down at once. Maybe a large, horizontal slash? No, that’s not going to work. You’d run out of strength trying to cut through all of them at once. They’re closing in on her now as she turns around to look at them. She nervously fits another arrow in her bow, trying to stay alive. You want to save her. You… just want… to save her! Augh!...

        ...! That’s it! You know what to do. You never even heard of this move before. Well, you’ve never held a sword before and you’re already exceptional with it, so nothing should really surprise you at this point. You point your sword backward, keeping your torso stationary while your legs twist to the left. You muster up strength in the pose. You bend your left arm ever so slightly more left and you release the pressure. Your sword swings in powerful horizontal movement, cutting through all of them. You keep spinning, even after you cut through the last one. They all wail into the sky, falling over. You expect something else to happen, but it doesn’t. They’re dead. You did it. Quill looks at you. “...What took you so long?” Even after that… jeez, Quill. As you stand there looking at her, their bodies splatter into little pieces. These pieces hover for a bit until they are sent skyward. The make a weird formation in the sky...

        But you have no time to ponder what it is. The barrier is just a few feet from that elf. You drag him a safe distance away before putting him back on your back. With the magical fence gone, you quickly finish running to the northern gate. You jump through the threshold. You run up to the hill where everyone is. You stand there, watching the town slowly get engulfed. You look over to Quill, who has a painful look in her eye. You look around. Only the people in the bar made it out. Some people have begun to wake up from their fall. “Yes.” You quickly look back at Quill. You ask her what she means. “About joining you,” she says. Oh. Yeah. It must be hard to hang out in Anvil when… this. She says that’s not why she’s joining you. You, again, ask her what she means. She remains silent. Maybe it’s about seeing Anvil—seeing _her_ hometown being destroyed like this…

        You look over at Katia, who currently stares at the barrier. You call her name. She quickly snaps out of her gaze. “What?” You ask her about the nearest town. “Oh. Kvatch  isn’t too far away.” Good. Maybe there you can get answers about this book… and answers about other things as well.


	6. Trick or Treat

        People swarm you, wanting answers. “What do we do,” they ask. “Where are we supposed to go,” they ask. “What about my family,” they ask. You want to answer their questions but don’t at the same time. These people have been torn from their lives. They’ve now been hurt… real bad. You want to help them. Give them solace in a time when they need it most. However, as amazing as that sounds, you just aren’t that kind of person. You back up from the sad crowd of people. Quill saves you. “Look, you all want answers about many things, but now’s not time to question the one person who doesn’t  _ have _ the answers. He wants to try his best to help all of you, but, right now, he’s got his own problems.” You make a mental note to thank her later. “But where do we go,” one of them asks. You butt in and mention Kvatch, or any other nearby city. You hope they find solace in that. They still have a place to go. Not many have that luxury.

        One lady in particular, though, separates herself from the crowd. She stands before you, tears streaming down her face. Please, she says. “Please save my children.” Her husband quickly takes her into his arms. The conversation is over just as quickly as it began, but the mark the conversation made is as big as all of Tamriel. You feel hopeless. All of these people look to you for help. You can’t just stand around and not do anything… but you  _ can’t _ do anything. It’s the reality. You don’t even know what this barrier is or why it’s here. You don’t even know if it’s even  _ possible _ to save anyone in that barrier.

        Just as all hope seems lost, not just for everyone standing around Anvil, but for you as well, you feel something. A buzzing of sorts. You look to your bag. You open it. You take out the book. You hold it in your hands. A ghastly whisper escapes its leathery binds. “Go…” You don’t know what to think of that. Katia, however, comes over to you. Quill, seeing Katia moving closer, does so as well. “Keep moving…” You still don’t understand. “What’s it doing,” Quill asks. You tell her… it’s speaking. “What’s it saying?”... “Keep moving.”

        You turn around. Clearly, the only way to go is forward. The crowd has begun walking along the path. Some people still linger, mourning over their loved ones. You join the ones moving. Better to keep moving than stay recounting the past. 

        Time passes. As with time, so do you. You look back at Anvil. The barrier just reaches the northern gate. You turn back, holding on to the hope that you might just save those in need. Katia breaks the long silence between the three of you. “So, that sword is pretty cool.” It’s an awkward comment, but you commend her on starting the conversation… to yourself, of course. You tell her where you got it. “That sword? I thought Quill would’ve had it removed by now.” Quill comments about how nobody could get it out. “Hmm…” You don’t want the conversation to end. It seems it keeps you from thinking too deeply. “It sucks that I don’t have a sheath for it. Now, I just have to carry it in my hand. “You could use mine.” Someone from the crowd walks over to you. It’s that guard. “It’s the least I could do. I can’t believe I was so stupid. I treat you terribly in main square and you go and save my life… Thanks for doing my job for me. I hope you forgive me.” You reluctantly take the sheath and tell the man that he’s forgiven. You strap the sheath to your back and place your sword in it. Perfect fit. You thank him for the sheath. He walks off to talk to the other locals still recovering. Maybe you judged him too quickly, just like he had done to you.

        After a few hours, you make it to Kvatch. You managed to avoid encountering any harmful monsters along the way. As you continued along the path, the crowd became stretched out. As you look around you now, you don’t see anyone from Anvil. A mage comes running out of Kvatch. You stop her. You tell her about the disaster that befell Anvil. “I know. People have been coming in and talking their heads off nonstop.” She goes on to ask you if you’ve been involved in any way. You tell her that the three of you are also victims of the barrier. “That’s horrible! If you need anything, the town’s soup kitchen is currently open.” Katia quickly comments that she knows where it is. “Well, hope you can find your way there, good luck!” She quickly runs off behind you to attend to another group of people.

        Katia guides you and Quill to the soup kitchen with a smile plastered on her face. You have no idea why. You make it into the soup kitchen, which is held in the chapel. Someone immediately greets you. “Why, hello there!” You greet her back while looking around the chapel. Lots of people, some from Anvil, sit against the wall of the chapel, enjoying their food. The pews are all taken. “If you just go forward, you’ll reach the table with the food.” You decline her offer, as you just ate. Katia, however, feels like she  _ could _ eat again. Quill follows you as you save a spot for the three of you. Finding an acceptable spot, you and Quill sit down.

        You turn to her, breaking the silence with a question. You tell her that the first thing on your list is to find someone that can decipher the book. You ask her if she knows anyone. “Not in Kvatch.” But somewhere else? She prefers not to say. Katia sits down next to you now with a bowl of food. As she slowly starts to eat it, you take the book out and open it. You flip through the first few pages. The text is unreadable. To you, anyway. You have no idea what it says. In fact, you’ve never seen this language before. And if it is of a language, you’ve never seen it written this way. It’s in some sort of strange hieroglyphics. You tilt the book Quill’s way. You ask her if she’s seen anything like this before. “Hmm… Can’t say I have. I  _ will _ say that it looks ancient.” So, a book filled with ancient hieroglyphics. Great. Next thing you know, you’ll find some sort of ancient monument that you have to decode or something. Better not speak too soon, or it may come true.

        You turn to Katia. You ask her if anyone in this town might be able to understand this text. “The only person I can think of is Sigrid in the Kvatch Mages Guild.” At least you know your next destination. As Katia finishes the last of her food, you stand up, stretch, and make your way out of the chapel.

        Now at the front door of the Mages Guild, or so Katia tells you, you begin to jot a map of the town on paper. Better have that on hand just in case. You look to your many wounds. The cuts never went that deep. They’ve stopped bleeding, at least. You’re relieved you don’t have to take any further action. The door opens and a blonde lady steps through the door. She greets Katia, not expecting her to be back so soon. “Well, you know,  _ barriers _ and all…” She questions what she means. “Oh, there’s currently a giant barrier engulfing the planet right now.” Sigrid, at least the person who you think is Sigrid, invites the three of you in, surprised at the recent news.

        Katia tells her all about it. She even goes into detail about your sword fighting. She comments about how you’re in the wrong guild, but you’ll take that as a joke. She paces back and forth, listening to the story and pondering to herself, probably about potential causes. You tell her that you feel this book might have something to do with it. She quickly precedes to tell you that she’s no book expert— “Oh my gods!” She immediately yanks the book from your hands. She quickly opens it and scans through the pages, amazed at what she’s seeing. “No way.” She closes the book. “How did you get this?” You tell her that you tripped over it. “Well, I would consider myself lucky if I found this.” You really wouldn’t, though. You push that thought aside and ask her what she means. It’s just a plain old book. “This isn’t just some  _ plain old book _ . It is  _ the _ book!” You’re not quite following.

        She prefaces her explanation by saying that the book is written in Hylian. You’ve never heard of it before. “Of course not. You don’t seem like the researching type.” You don’t seem like a  _ anything _ type. You ask her about the Hylian language. “It’s an ancient—,” there’s that word again, “—language used by the goddesses of the Hylian religion.” Hylian religion? She says it’s an old religion that died many, many years ago. You ask her if anything in the book is of importance. “Well, I’m not exactly  _ fluent _ . I’d have to translate the pages.” You ask her how long that will take. She answers as though you’ve just asked the dumbest question in the world. “Considering that I have to go through every single symbol and meticulously translate it, for the, oh, let’s see… 900 pages here, I’d say… a  _ very _ long time.” You tell her you don’t  _ have _ time. “Yeah, yeah. The barrier.” She considers the thought for a moment. The book. The barrier. Something hits. You can see it in her eyes. She instinctively hands the book back to you. She tells the three of you that she has some research to do. You ask her how long it will take. “You and your questions. I don’t know… a few hours? I’m going to re-read some old texts to see if anything talks about a barrier. Come back in… 3 hours. Make sure to dawdle a little, too. I don’t know exactly how many texts I’m going to have to search through.” You figure this would be the best time to walk around the town, considering she just kindly asked you to leave. You turn around and walk out the door. Katia says goodbye before following you out.

        “Well, I’m going to check out the bar.” Quill immediately walks off toward the bar. Jeez, take it easy, will ya? You tell her that you and Katia are going to check out the store. She doesn’t look back at all. You tell Katia that you need a shield of some sort. “Of course!” She goes on to say she’d be happy to tag along… You stand there. “So… are you going to show me where it is?” “Hmm… Oh! Right!” She saunters in a general direction with you following her. You hope you don’t get into any trouble.

**You are now Quill-Weave… an Argonian who is extremely drunk.**

        You’re sitting at the bar, holding onto your Nord Ale, talking to the bartender. You explain to him your woes of that stupid barrier. He sits there and listens. Stupid little Khajiit  _ fuck _ . He could at least say something. Be  _ supportive _ . You  _ just _ lost your house and friends to some stupid thing. 

        A random thought pops into your head as you sit there, spraying saliva everywhere in anger. The random thought festers until it becomes the center of your attention.  _ This guy looks a lot like Katia… oh and what time is it? _ Putting your racism aside, you look around for a window. Considering your terribly narrow and blurry vision, you just ask the bartender in your drunken slur. “I don’t know, but you’ve been here for 2 hours.” Only two hours? Hmm. You feel like it’s been longer than that. As you ask for your 17th Ale, some weird guy walks through the door, screaming about something. The bartender just says his usual line of  _ welcome to this bar, blah blah blah. _ You place your head on the bar and take deep breaths, trying to lose yourself in the alcohol. You remark that you do feel pretty good right now… “—at the store… someone… robbed… dangerous lady…” You pick your head back up to resume your drinking. The incoherent conversation your also drunk ears are picking up keeps playing over in your head. Dangerous lady? In the store? Why do you feel like the store has some sort of significance? You turn to the man to ask him what he means, except that you slur your words to the point of incomprehensibility. You just turn back to your drink. He goes on to talk about the other people there. “I was... going to... warn the...  _ Khajiit  _ and  _ human  _ behind me, but I wanted to get out of there as fast as I could. They took my belongings, so I figured if I stayed there, they would take more than my belongings.” The man drunkenly draws his thumb across his throat. “At least I still had some money on me to spend for drinks so I can forget about my terrible luck.”

        The mention of a Khajiit and a human immediately grabs your attention. You focus in on the rest of the conversation, realizing that Katia and Jack are in a lot of trouble. With this knowledge, you get up from the bar. You drop the amount of septims required to cover your tab. You pick up one of the empty bottles and smash it against the counter. Now with your dangerous weapon, you drunkenly stumble out of the bar. You look around, trying your best to aid your vision. You...turn...your...head….until... _ there! _ You spot the store and run over to it. Well, you try to before you fall over into what’s left of the snow. You stand back up and continue the rest of the way without falling again. You swing the door open. Quickly looking around, you spot Tavia behind her counter as usual. To the right of the counter exists a table with cards on it. You look back over at Tavia. You walk over to her. “Famous writer Quill-Weave. Love your stories. How can I help you?” “Katia… Jack… Where ‘re they?” “Those two? The one guy, Jack as you put it, bought a shield from me. Nice guy.” “Locaaaation! I’m *hup* talking about—” “They went out the door and… swung a right, I think. They were talking about heading to the inn. What’s this all about—” 

        You don’t hear what she says after that. You drunkenly stumble about the town, trying to find the inn. You find it and stumble through the door. You see Jack and Katia sitting on the ground, with a strange old lady across from them. She’s also sitting. She turns to look at you. “Ah. How wonderful of you to join us.” You ready your broken Ale bottle—what? Why do you have this bottle in your hand? You feel like you had a reason to bring it into the inn with you, but…  _ something in the back of your mind _ is telling you otherwise. You go to place it down—wait! You know what you were going to do with the bottle! You were going to smash—…

**You are now Jack.**

        You watch as Quill smashes a glass bottle over her head. The glass cuts her head in multiple places. She hits the ground, out cold. Oh my gods, how much did she drink? “Don’t worry about her.” The old lady stands up. Suspicious, you stand up as well. “Now, on to what I have to say.” Katia rises as well. “What did you do,” you ask. She says she has no idea what you’re talking about. And, now that you think about it, you have no idea why you’d question  _ such an innocent old lady _ . The lapse of logic in your mind right now makes you more suspicious. Why did you just think that? You move closer to her. “Are you going to tell us something about the book or what?” “Ah, how could I forget?” The book. You take it out. “So, what is special about this book?” Anything she says could really help you right now. You’ve completely forgotten about Quill. Your mind tells you her current state is completely natural. You get another sudden urge—give the book to her. What? Why? Because… _ just do it _ . You get the sudden urge to hand the book over, yet your logical mind can’t find out why. You outstretch your arm to give her the book. No… you don’t! Your mind is currently split right now...  _ You feel like you're literally going to split in half. _

        She grabs the book with her hand, bridging the rest of the distance. As she does, something in the back of your mind screams at you.  _ Don’t give her the book. You don’t want to give her the book. _ A weaker, yet somehow reasonable outside force tells you otherwise. Your mind tries to wiggle its way out of the situation. “Give me the book,” she says stoically. No, you can’t! You tighten your grip. She tightens hers. “Give it to me,” she says, louder than before. As she gradually pulls harder and harder, the harder your mind convinces you that maybe giving her the book isn’t the best idea. You begin to pull back. “Just give her the book already!” Katia?! She moves to the old lady’s side, pulling the book from you, too. The contradiction of logic in your head right now is confusing you, but not for long. Instead of questioning why you want to give her the book, you instead question why you  _ don’t _ want to give her the book.

        ...It stems from your uneasiness of the original thought. You felt compelled to give her the book. Your mind didn’t know why, so you didn’t want to give her the book. Just then, it clicks. You yank the book from her grip. She falls flat on her face while Katia stumbles a little bit before getting her footing. You shake out everything suspicious in your mind. She’s controlling you! Making your reasoning flex to benefit her! You place the book back in your bag and unsheathe your sword. You charge at her, grasping her collar and nailing her to the wall. Except, why? You feel like you had some reason to push her up against the wall like this, but, for the life of you, you can’t seem to figure it out. You drop her and she painfully pushes you back with telekinesis. You smack against the wall of the inn. Hard. It was another trick. Unfortunately, you’re a little too late.

        You stand back up, swiveling your bag strap so the bag is behind you. You lock in the thought that no matter what she invades your mind with, the book stays in  _ your possession _ . You also make a mental note that any thoughts in your head might be fake at any time.  _ Give her the _ —no! Shut up! You grasp your sword. She now stands taller. She removes her wig and pulls off her mask… she’s not an elderly lady! She has orange hair with weird hieroglyphics on her sleeves. She floats into the air. You look at Katia, who’s stuck in a daze.

**You are now (?).**

        You don’t know what your name is. All you know is that your some old lady’s servant. You look up at your owner, who’s currently flying toward the ceiling. You look over the man with the sword in the corner of the inn. You have the sudden urge to kill him. You use your telekinesis to push one of the inn chairs at him. He catches it, struggling to stop it from moving. It slowly pushes him until he’s up against the wall. While he’s occupied, the old lady the raises the roof off of the inn. Wood and nails crunch and break at the seams until the entire roof is airborne like her. With the ceiling out of the way, she continues floating higher in the air. The man, finally having enough, uses his sword to break the chair. You, of course, occupy him with another one. She says a chant under her breath. In an instant, the ground begins to shake. The man breaks through this chair as well. Looks like you’ve got one last object left. You pick up the table with your telekinesis, tilt it sideways, and launch it in his direction. He manages to barrel out of the table’s way. It smashes and breaks against the opposing wooden wall. As you look for something else to throw at him, you begin to lift into the air. With you right next to the old lady, she chants another spell. The ground shakes again. This time, three monsters appear out of the ground. You  _ can’t wait _ for him to die!

**You are now Jack.**

        That lady’s controlling her! Now, as Katia floats next to her, three more of those monsters crawl out of the ground again. She must have been the one that did it earlier! She might even be responsible for the barrier! It infuriates you, and your anger fuels you. All three of them move in closer to you. You’ll just do what you did earlier. Perhaps she just wants to see it in action. You release a spin attack, knocking all three of them on the ground. They fall over and break into small pieces again. She remarks at your skill. 

        Summoning them must've drained her power. You need to  _ physically  _ hurt her, though. You look around, trying to think of a way to damage her. You set your eyes on a coil of rope. You grab it, contemplating ways you can use it. You look up at her… You look over at Katia. She might be your answer. You quickly tie a knot, effectively making a lasso. You swing the lasso in a circular motion and chuck it upwards. It flies right over the lady’s shoulder. “Nice shot,” she says. You weren't aiming for her, though.

        The rope successfully wraps around Katia’s midsection. You yank on the rope and begin spinning in a circle. The momentum moves to Katia, who follows the trajectory in one, giant circle. She smacks right into the lady’s side. Both Katia and the lady fall to the ground. Now incapacitated, the lady’s telekinesis is temporarily disabled. The roof plummets, crashing onto the wall it once laid upon. Katia is now also unconscious. Not  _ really _ what you wanted, but it’ll have to do.

        She stands back up. “Why, you!” She makes an energy sword out of thin air, grumbling to herself. She launches herself in your direction. You match her in an opposing sprint and you two collide, clanging your swords together. You match her strength, but she has magic up her sleeve. She telekinetically grabs a barrel and knocks it directly into your head. Currently distracted by head pain, she pushes you up against the back wall. You struggle to keep your own sword away from your neck. You won’t go down that easily, though. You push her off of you with a short bout of strength. She stumbles backward before running at you again. You grab a book and smack her with it, stopping her in her tracks. While phased for a little bit, she doesn’t want to kill you with a sword anymore. Not after doing something like  _ that _ . It blinks away. She grabs you by the collar and throws you at the counter. You look around the counter for anything to use against her as she slowly walks to you. You grab a plate. Satisfied, you turn around and smash the plate on her head. She stumbles backward again. You grab your shield from your back and bash it against her body until she stumbles into the back wall.

        With her back to you, you place the tip of your sword on her back, threatening to stab her if she made any movement.  _ Ready to give up _ , you ask. “Yes,” she says, quite convincingly. You begin to back off when she swings her foot around, knocking the sword out of your hand. It flies off, cutting into the wooden wall of the inn. You still have your shield! You attempt to squeeze as much of yourself behind your shield. It is now your defense as well as your weapon. She throws magic fireballs at you. You manage to block each one—thank gods for your targeting—she sends at you. Your now tattered wooden shield is slightly on fire. As she runs out of energy again, you decide to make one quick move toward her. You bolt forward, precisely jumping into the air. You spin around while airborne, slowly extending your shield from your body. As you turn around to see her again, you line up your shield with her face and—BAM! Your shield completely crunches and falls to pieces on impact. She stumbles backward and falls down. She now lays on the ground, panting and gasping for air.

        Now’s your chance. You pull your sword from the inn wall and place it against her neck. “Don’t think this is over,” she says. You ask her what she means. She chuckles softly into the air. “You’ve got no idea…” She turns, for the most part, invisible. You still target her, watching her essence phase through the south wall. You open the door to confirm your suspicions. Yep. She’s heading to the barrier.


	7. An Impenetrable Barrier

**You are now Quill-Weave.**

You awake to a pounding headache and pain on the left side of your head. Wanting relief, you place your hand upon the location of the pain. The direct contact makes it sting more. You quickly push your hand away to prevent further harm. You look at your hand. It is covered in blood and broken glass shards. You tilt your head, hoping some of the glass falls out of the wound. To your credit, some _does_. You know that some pieces are still lodged in there.

You feel around to see just how much blood you’ve lost. A large amount of it soaked into your overshirt. Great. Time to stop feeling with your hands and get up. You attempt to focus your vision. Everything’s just a wee bit blurry and you have no idea where you are.

After stumbling a bit, you manage to get to your feet. You look around. Still, many things in your vision are blurry. Wait. What’s that sound? You turn around. A figure just beyond you moves about. You close your eyes and shake your head, which makes it worse. You decide the best course of action would be to just stand there and wait…

“Quill…? Quill? Quill?!” Your eyelids spring open. Your vision’s improved. Something appears to be right in front of you. You look up, only to come face to face with a pair of eyes.

“Are you alright,” says the figure. Your hearing hasn’t fully returned.

“Jack,” you say in a questioning tone.

“Yeah. I’m here. Are you feeling alright?” You hesitant before answering.

“I have glass… _sticking out of my fucking skull_ … What makes you think… what makes you think I’m alright?” Your blood loss-induced vertigo takes a hold of you. You tumble and fall over. Before the light fades again, you feel the sensation of Jack catching you in his arms…

**You are now Jack.**

You haul Katia and Quill back to the Mages Guild. You figure that Sigrid might be able to make a potion for the two of them. Whatever money it costs, you’ll pay it. With both hands occupied, you brutefully kick the door open. It lightly snaps off of its hinge. That, too. You’ll pay for that, too.

“Sigrid?” Already near the foyer, she quickly turns around at the commotion near her door. A look of shock spreads on her face until it quickly transitions to that hand-on-hips _did you have to be that dramatic_ look.

“Quill and Katia are both unconscious.” She quickly runs over to the bodies on your shoulders.

“What happened?”

You suppose it’s a rhetorical question, and you don’t give a response. She swiftly examines them, taking note of certain marks. Satisfied, she walks away into another room without saying a word. You lay Quill down into one of the many chairs in the room. You do the same with Katia. She comes back into the room.

“Katia is fine. She’s in a mind control-induced coma that _should_ wear off any minute. Quill, on the other hand, is in severe danger of an infection right now.” You ask her what that means for her.

“Oh, she’ll be fine, don’t worry about her. I know a certain elixir that should handle the infection. I just need to remove all of this glass.” She moves a table from the other side of the room, placing it near Quill’s chair. She gets to work picking out as many pieces of glass as she sees, dropping them onto a plate. As more of the wound becomes clear, she gasps.

“Oh dear. That’s not good.” You ask her what’s wrong.

“You see this green color developing in the wound? The infection is starting to fester… to a _dangerous level_ .” She quickly runs off into another room. You walk over to Quill. _Come on_ , you say. _Come on, Quill. You can hold together. Please._ You’d hate to have one of your only friends die because of your stupidity. You shouldn’t have followed that old lady into the inn. You blame yourself for it, even though Katia did most of the talking.

She comes back into the room with a flask.

“This _should_ work.” Yeah? Well, I _should_ go jump off a cliff. Seriously, her use of the word _should_ is getting on your nerves.

“And if it doesn’t?” A moment of silence… In fact, she doesn’t answer at all.

“There we go… Ya know, just for the few seconds her mouth was open to drink that, I could _feel_ the alcohol.” You tell her that Quill apparently has an alcohol problem.

“Obviously.” Just then, you hear someone gasping for breath. You look over at Katia. Nope. You look back over at Quill. Her eyes slowly flutter open. They look a little more straight and a little less glossy than before. She moans, her voice coarse and dry. She focuses on Sigrid.

“Where am I?” You move a little closer. She looks over at you. You can’t really tell, but she looks angry just by looking at you. _In the Mages Guild_ , you say.

“You’ve suffered… an injury,” Sigrid butts in.

“No shit?” Can she ever just tone it down? She goes to touch her head again.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you!” Quill places her hand back down.

“I’m going to need you to hold still because I haven’t gotten everything yet. There’s still a lot of glass that needs to be extracted.”

“Speaking of glass, what the hell happened?” She looks over at you for an answer. You pull up a chair and sit down.

“Speaking strictly about the glass, _that_ was some sort of alcoholic beverage in your hand.”

“How did it end up all over my—guh…” Sigrid apologizes and continues with her work.

“You bashed it into your face or something.”

“Why the hell would I do that?”

“You were being mind controlled.” Quill takes a second to take it in.

“It wasn’t me!” You turn to Sigrid.

“I know it wasn’t you. She flew off toward the barrier.”

“ _And you didn’t run after her?_ ” You don’t appreciate Quill’s mocking tone. You tell her that you would have if you weren’t too busy hauling her limp body across town.

“I wouldn’t have needed help if you didn’t put _yourself_ in danger.” You heavily exhale. You don’t want to get to mad. She’s right. It’s your fault. You apologize. A silence fills the air, only being broken by the clang of glass hitting a plate.

You feel like you deserve _some_ recognition, though. You try your hardest to bite your tongue…

“What’s wrong with Katia?” You tell her that she was another victim.

“I know that, _dumbass_. Is she sleeping, or…?”

“She’s currently in a… what’s it called?”

“A mind control-induced coma?”

“A mind control-induced coma. That’s it. Just came to me.” Both of the women ignore your comment and a dull silence returns to the room. Again. You _literally_ twiddle your thumbs while waiting for her to finish.

“Are you almost done, yet? And I’m not asking in a rude, why-is-this-taking-so-long sort of manner, just in a curious-about-how-far-along-you-are manner. _And_ my explanation of my tone isn’t to be taken in a rude way, eith—”

“I’m almost done.” Quill chuckles to herself about something while looking at you. Her eyes drift away, though, probably into her thoughts.

You figure there’s _something_ productive you can do to help. You stand up and walk over to Sigrid. You inquisitively ask if she needs anything done while she heals Quill’s wound.

“Well, while I’m doing this, you could prepare a Potion of Healing for afterwards.” Quill uneasily adjusts in the chair. Is she scared because you’ll be making the potion? Are you _that_ clumsy? Well, you’ll show her! You’ll make the best potion this side of Cyrodiil has ever seen!

You quickly grab a “Making Potions for Dummies” that’s been so kindly offered from Sigrid. You run over to the nearest chaired table and take a seat. You open the first pages… you realize that you can’t read. You get back up and hand the potion handbook back to her.

“Not really feeling it, are we?” You tell her… yes. You’d rather not tell her you’re illiterate. Best you keep it to yourself. You also don’t want Quill to know just how incompetent you really are.

“Okay… aaand… done!” Sigrid leans back in her chair as the last of the glass drops onto the plate. She scooches back and stands up.

“I’m going to make a Potion of Healing. I’ll be right back.” She leaves the room… you slowly slide down into Sigrid’s seat.

“What,” she asks in a rude tone. You start by telling her that you’re sorry.

“Didn’t you already apologize?”

“Yes, but I thought I’d give it another try.” Clearly failing to get her forgiveness, you go on to tell her about what happened earlier. A mysterious lady in the store had told you and Katia that she had some knowledge about the book. You thought she had a serious lead that would explain… _something_. In hindsight, she probably just mind-controlled you to think that.

She invited both you and Katia over to the inn to discuss the matters. That’s when Quill came in. She had a broken glass bottle, looking at the old lady. The old lady turned around. They both locked eyes for a second. That was all she needed. Next thing you know… SMASH! She had shattered the bottle across her head. She then tried her best to take _your_ mind over. You had resisted her tricks, though, and you defeated her in an all-out death battle.

You quickly gloss over that last point, but Quill immediately takes notice in what you’re saying. You get to the point.

“This book… it’s way more important than any of us could have conceived. People are out to get it… _Bad_ people.” Quill thinks about it.

“What could _possibly_ be in that book that’s so important?” You ponder her response. Clearly, this book is more than just flashy shapes only certain people can see. Your thoughts drift back to the first time you took a look at its pages.

Nothing about it really stands out to you. Even the weird dream you had doesn’t seem to carry any significance…

“Okay, I’m back.” You break your distant stare, shaking your thoughts. You can think about some stupid book later. Right now, you decide it would be best to treat Quill’s wounds. You stand up.

“So, this will instantly fix my wound?”

“No. This potion has a lasting effect. It will speed up recovery time. It can also mend bones back into position; fixes to our medical limitations.” Hmm. You never really considered that. Instead of going to someone to get patched up, just use a potion. Quill leans her head back, tilting the bottle—

“Wait! Not yet. The buff on the infection-curing potion is _still_ active. You don’t want to mix the effects.”

“Why?”

“Just trust me. You don’t want to experience the side effects.” You’ll take her word for it; her current expression truly convinces you.

You consider the currently situation. It’s night and that lady took off for a hasty retreat. Although you’d love to chase her down, you’ll just wait for Quill to recover first.

“How long does it take to wear off,” you ask. Quill looks at Sigrid inquisitively. _You’re welcome_.

“Hmm… best to just wait until tomorrow.” She collects the empty flasks, the plate, and any other materials and tools she used.

“Really,” you ask. You don’t want to rush things, but you feel as though more pressing matters are at hand right now.

“Yes. Really. Unless you want your Argonian friend to _shit literal blood_.” Yikes! Better not rush things, then. You have no idea where you’d stay for the night, though. As you begin to open your mouth, Sigrid interrupts you.

“You can bunk here for the night.” How’d she…?

“It’s the least I could do. Besides, I need the intended recipients of this book close by when I discover what it means.” You guess that she’s politely asking for the book. She’s definitely gained your trust. You take out the book and hand it to her. You feel instantly relieved… and a little scared. Even though you found it today, and considering it’s just a book, you still feel as though you have some sort of… moral obligation to make sure the book is okay. You curse yourself for having such feelings. You’d rather not worry about anything and just relax.

You consider it, though. Ever since you got this book, you’ve had strange feelings. You’ve also been acting in strange ways. Being heroic. Being courageous. Caring for others. Traits you never thought you had… because you never got the chance to express them. Hell, even as you look at Quill, who wants nothing to do with you right now, you can’t help but _want_ to help her. It’s strange, but it’s also comforting. It makes you feel like you’re _not_ a useless nobody.

Quill rises from her seat as Sigrid prepares to show you to your quarters. You look over at Katia. You almost forgot about her. You pick her up, placing her over your shoulder. You briskly jog to catch up to them down the hall.

You reach the living quarters. Many beds outline the perimeter of the room. Quill, Katia, and you take the left-most beds in that order. Quill sits down on her bed as Sigrid affixes some bandaging to the side of her face. You plop Katia down in her bed. You pull the covers out from under her and tuck her in. _Rest easy, Katia_. You return to Sigrid with your book in hand.

“So...I guess this is yours.”

“For the time being, anyway. Best rest up. I’ll make you all some breakfast in the morning so you can start on your journey to Chorrol.”

“Chorrol,” Quill asks nervously.

“Of course. People need to be warned of this barrier.” That makes sense. You didn’t really think about where to go next, possibly because you’ve never seen a map before, so Chorrol sounds like a plan. Sigrid turns to leave, but hesitantly turns back around.

“...Anything you want me to look at specifically?” You consider the question.

“Anything surrounding the hieroglyphic page.” She nods her head, liking your answer. At least you gave her a good place to start. She finally leaves the room, blowing a few candles out.

You slowly walk over to your bed, lay down, and tuck yourself in. This is it. As you blankly stare at the ceiling, you ponder your future. What tomorrow holds may be uncertain, but your willingness to save innocent lives isn’t. You’ll warn people as far as the eye can see. You’ll give them the best chance they can have at staying alive to this _thing_ … and you just hope that _that lady_ gets her due justice.

…

  
You feel a dark haze around you. You squeeze your eyes tighter than they were before. _A little longer_ , you think. The sun blazes through the window… only until you realize that you haven’t been sleeping for that long. You open your eyes... and the dark haze becomes a blazing inferno.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is going to be much longer. Prepare for some interesting, dramatic, intense, and extraordinary events for the next one.


	8. Mini-Chapter: Regret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Issues arise among the Twili.

        “How did it go?” The question resurfaced dark memories.  
        “It went… alright.” You clench your fist, holding back the horde of emotions.  
        “Really, now? Did you do what I commanded you?” The voice tenses up as a reminder that failure is not an option.  
        “Yes, sir.” You close your eyes and grit your teeth. You stop yourself from saying any rude remarks.  
        “Good. Our plan will be complete in no time.” He leaves you to yourself. You fall to your knees, tears immediately streaming down your face. The terrible deed you did earlier today, well… it’s given you a whole new perspective.

        Earlier that day…

        The other Twili have gathered up the light bugs for you. All that’s left is for you to do your part, as usual. However, you’re unreasonably joyous today. Maybe it’s because this proposition from him will earn you some respect. You take a deep breath and step forward. The sunlight beams upon you, its rays causing an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of your stomach. You grow impatient. The sooner you get this over with, the better. You step onto the platform. You open your mouth and speak the ancient language…

        In an instant, the ground shakes. The constant rumbling might make you fall over if you actually cared. You gracefully wait for it to stop. Nothing will phase you. An amalgamation of light and mass appears before you. You know what it is. It’s a light spirit.

        “Hello. I am—.” Before the light spirit has time to finish, the light bugs quickly rope onto it. They scatter across its surface. The light spirit, confused for a short while, begins yelping in pain. Its cries resonate throughout the lands. They slowly grow in intensity, until a sudden snap and the light spirit shrieks in absolute terror. The sound of his demise sends chills down your spine. Just like that, his yells are stifled and the surrounding place begins to convert to Twilight. The light bugs, now endowed with the light spirit’s light, scatter among the local area. The final light spirit, its light taken away. However, those screams still ring in your ears.

        ...

        You don’t know why you feel this way. For your entire life, you’ve felt quite a disdain for being royalty. The thought of one day becoming a Queen bores you. You’d much rather crack jokes, play pranks, and have a good time with friends. However, your father has pushed you away from such a lifestyle. Especially now, since you’re nearing the age becoming of a Princess. You’re father has to been to his wit’s end trying to prepare you for a lifestyle you’d rather not even bother with. You just wish you could tell him…

        …

        “Just make sure I get some mustard with it,” you hear from beyond your father’s bedroom door. You lightly rap on the door. Not too many times, now.  
        “Father?” You crack the door ajar.  
        “You may enter.” You fully walk into the room and close the door behind you.  
        “What is it, daughter? I’m very busy.”  
        “Well, you see… I was thinking that…”  
        “What? Not having any issues, are we? You’re only a few days away from becoming a princess. Don’t tell me… you have other plans.” He moves closer to you.  
        “Well, what is it?” He moves dangerously close to you.  
        “Umm… well… I was just wondering if I could help you… with anything.” He backs up.  
        “Ah, yes. Already exercising your princess duties? Good. I’ll be honest with you, daughter. Something’s been troubling me recently. I’ve lost something and I need you to get it back.”

        You only half listen. You’re so stupid. He would never understand it from your perspective. You’ve never dared to step out of line. Just his glare was bad enough. And he’d always threaten you with some sort of ultimate punishment.

        After getting lectured about your upcoming role as a princess, he sends you off to the library to find out more about a mysterious place where his book might’ve gone. You scour the place for hours… and stumble upon some interesting leads...

        To be continued...


	9. The Moonlit Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the face of absolute helplessness, Jack must regretfully team up with an unlikely individual.

        You immediately chuck yourself off of the bed and onto the floor, which incidentally caves in. You crash onto the first floor of the guild. You rise to your feet. _What the hell happened?_ Your sword hangs from a broken piece of the flooring… just by happenstance. You grab it and throw yourself out the door.

        You look around at the stunned townsfolk. These poor people. I mean, they literally have impending doom right at their doorstep and now their village is burning down. Gasps and shocked commotion fill the air as you rise from the inferno. You near the crowd and casually ask them if they saw where Katia and Quill went. It takes awhile for someone to answer.

        “No idea.” “Nope.” “Sorry, no.” Useless. Now that you think about it, Sigrid should be around here. She, however, isn’t. You push past the crowd of people and head for the town’s south gate. If anything has happened to Katia and Quill, then, by the gods, you’ll head in that damned barrier no matter what.

        You reach the barrier. You look across its foreboding face. You step closer. You...reach out...your hand...to touch it… Before you can make any voluntary contact, something large emerges from the barrier, grabbing you and pulling you in. _This is it. I’m dead_. As you’re dragged through the barrier, however, you still _feel_. You’re still alive.

        You open your eyes. Well, first things first, this hand needs to stop grabbing you. You grab the hand that grabbed you, trying your best to pull yourself free. It seems to no avail; the strange creature examines you contently. To make matters worse, a shooting, burning pain radiates from your left hand until it covers your whole body. You have absolutely no idea what’s going on, but whatever holds you screeches in pain and chucks you backward. You smack on the ground. You have to get up and defend yourself from this monster.

        You attempt to stand, but you only manage to get to a strange crouching position. You struggle against the pain, which manages to keep you down. You… need to relieve it somehow… maybe a yell, perhaps? Yeah, people yell when they’re in pain, right? You don’t immediately dismiss the idea. In fact, it might relieve the pain, and you’d do _anything_ for some relief. You take a breath in… and yell. You’ve never thought this intently about some dumb yell, but you dismiss the fact that it has anything to do with anything right now. Frankly, a million things are going through your head and you’re kind of freaking out. After what feels like forever, the pain instantly relieves itself. That yell _did_ kind of help! You’re glad _you_ thought of that. You fall to the ground. Nap time already? You slip into an unconscious state and the last thing you see… is fur?

        …

        You wake up. You head hurts, but that’s the least of your worries. You feel a cold, metal chain around your wrist. You assume it’s binding you to something. _Ah_ , you think, _it must’ve been a dream._ You’re currently in a jail cell right now, probably because that guard in town actually knocked you out, right? As you attempt to reabsorb yourself in your amazing, fantasy tale of a dream, you feel strange. Not on the inside like the pain from before, but on the outside.

        You take note of the weird position you’re laying in. You reluctantly open your eyes. You realize the state you’re in. The memory of fur was playing over and over in your head. Now, you know why… you’re a wolf.

        You freak out for a little while before cooling down. Not _just_ a wolf, though. A wolf that’s locked up. You decide to worry about getting out instead. You tug on the chain mercilessly, attempting to free your white paw from its shackles… er, shackle. You bite down on the chain. _Wolves have a strong bite, right?_ You attempt to bite through the metal, but that doesn’t work either; you’d rather _keep_ your teeth. You go back to pulling on the chain again until you whimper in pain. Better not break your wrist. You, once again, go back to biting the chain, wiggling it back and forth—Hold on. Something just moved.

        You tilt your head back at the iron bars that prevent you from escaping. Not like the shackle wasn’t doing that. You growl at the shadows beyond the bars, for a monster could be lurking in there. Something _does_ step forward. Its eyes glow a fierce orange and red. It has a short stature, but something leaks from this creature you can’t even begin to describe. It widens its eyes at you, opening its mouth, ready for attack—it jumps forward! It passes right through the bars. You’re on the complete defensive right now. You back away as far as your chain will let you, growling and snarling all the while. You let loose a few guttural barks. It doesn’t back off. Its look sharpens, penetrating your own. You don’t back down, though. It holds the stare… it jumps back with a smile on its face! What could it be planning?! Even though it moves away from you, you tighten up your guard again.

        “My, my. In a little predicament, are we?” It talks? Wait, that voice…? The old lady from the inn? The familiar voice, even though it’s a hostile one, gets to you, and you ease up.

        “Oh, yeah. Wolves can’t talk. Well, it’s not like I’d get a real conversation out of you, even if you were still a human.” You snarl at her comment.

        “Hey! Calm down! Even _you_ should know that snarling at someone’s rescuer is rude.” Rescuer? You loosen up altogether.

        “That’s more like it.” You thought she was the one who locked you in here. Apparently not?

        “I know that look in your eye.” You do?

        “You want to know why I’m helping you, don’t you?” Not really…

        “Of course, being the _bigger person_ , I’ve decided that I shall allow you my forgiveness for the previous fight. Plus, a friend’s always looking to give a helping hand.” Why’s she all buddy-buddy now? And furthermore, why does she look like that? Going from a 5-foot tall lady to a 2- to 3-foot tall imp is a major change. You decide that she must not want to talk about it, considering she won’t openly tell you. Only if you could talk…

        “Tell you what, I’ll free you from the chain if you promise to help me with something _I_ need help with.” Of course. She needs a favor done for her. So, really, no one is even here. You blink at her as a yes.

        “...I’ll take that as a yes.” Indeed you shall.

        “Now then. How shall I do this?” She ponders her method of freeing you. Settling on an idea, she holds her hands close together… A dark ball appears in the space between them. She propels it toward you. You flinch, as she _clearly_ is trying to kill you… You open your eyes. The chain is broken. Frankly, you’re shocked. You look back over at her. You move toward the bars. _What about these?_

        “Hey, I said I’d free you from the chain. The rest is up to you.” Well, she’s not wrong.

        You look around your cell. A broken box rests in the corner, against the bars. You take a look at it. You sniff it. Many sensations come to you, like where this box was, what it was used for, what was in it, etc. Right now, your heightened senses aren’t that useful. Pretty cool, though. You attempt to pull it with your mouth. Too heavy, even for your bite. You step back and charge forward at it. The collision pushes you back and the box crumbles to bits. An opening reveals itself before you. It’s way too small to wiggle through, but the ground near it seems a little loose. You sniff the dirt, running your paw across the ground. Hmm… seems quite _soft_. You dig a little bit. Yeah, this seems soft enough. You turn up the speed and dig as fast as you can. Dirt spills out behind you and you clear a nice little crawlspace to wiggle through. You push yourself through and, in no time at all, you’re on the other side.

        You dust yourself off. You look around the area in front of your cell… she’s gone. You wonder—AHH! Something just landed on your back! You attempt to get it off. It’s… chuckling at your attempts. You instantly know what, or _who_ , it is. You stop moving.

        “Seems someone still needs tamed. Don’t worry. It won’t be long.” She painfully grabs your ear.

        “Now, you better help me, or I’ll make sure you’ll regret it.” Geez. She lets go.

        “I’ve been watching you for a while now. You’re pretty skilled. Well, skilled enough for what I want you to do.” You can’t even begin to imagine what _that_ could be.

        “Also, _if_ you’re ever able to speak again, you can call me… Midna.” Midna. At least you can attach a name to her. Well then, _Midna_ , where to next?

        “Now, hurry up! We need to get going. Let’s get out of this dirty jail.” You always thought it was pretty clean. As you lightly sprint across the main room of the jail, you… notice something. You stop dead in your tracks and peer to your right. Many light blue, ethereal flames blaze in midair. Curious, you walk towards them. Midna sighs.

        “We don’t have time for this… what is it?” Can she not see it? Maybe she can’t. You close your eyes. You hone your senses. The smells, the noises, the touches. The light scent of dung in one of the cells. The repetitive dripping of water leaking from the roof. The cold, aged stone beneath your padded paws. You open your eyes. You see many figures before you. Three of them are separated from the rest. You immediately recognize them.

        “What is it?! What do you see? Something I can’t?” Sparks fly out of Midna’s hands and wrap around your head. You feel pressure on your eyes. You look back at her. You notice a yellow tint in her eyes.

        “Oh… I see…” She observes the group of people.

        “So, you know those people, right?” Do you _know_ these people? What kind of a question is that? It’s Katia and Quill. Both of them are chained to the stone walls, bound by metal around their wrists and by the feeling of futility in their hearts. Quill’s head injury has worsened and Katia is bleeding from her arm. You want to help them, but the best way to help them right now would be to get rid of this black realm. You change your focus from Katia and Quill to the other group of people. They’re all children. Some argonian, some khajiit, some mer. They quiver in fear, attempting to comfort each other.

        “Do you think we could sneak out?” You sharply turn around to face the adjacent cell.

        “No, we definitely can’t.” It’s a conversation between two elf parents.

        “Did you see the size of that beast out there? He’ll eat us all if we make a move in the wrong direction, much less escape.”

        “Plus, how will we get out of these chains?” You turn back to Katia and Quill’s cell. There’s a human behind the crowd of terrified children.

        “Maybe we could have the children help us out.” The kids look to the adults surrounding them.

        “Are you kidding? They won’t do anything! Seriously guys, staying put will be our best bet.”

        “And get eaten by that monster anyway?!”

        “You don’t know that! I’d rather give living a chance rather than get myself and my children killed!” The room fills with silence, save the children crying to themselves.

        “ _Drama_ _!_ ” You ignore Midna’s comment. You want to say something, but can’t. You can only sit and watch as the citizens of Anvil slowly fall victim to this terrible string of recent events. You hang your head in hopelessness. You wish you weren’t so helpless...

        “—what about Jack?” You lift your head. Everyone turns their head toward Katia: Quill, Sigrid, the human, the two elves, even the children, whose cries have quieted.

        “The human? What’s he gonna do? Save us? He couldn’t save himself, even if he wanted to.”

        “You’re wrong! He’ll be here. He’ll save us. I… I can feel it.”

        “Sure. And you’ll have that feeling all the way to your death. Maybe it’ll even accompany you in the afterlife!”

        “...He’s much braver than people in this town give him credit for. That monster outside? He’s taken on three of those with Quill here.” Quill immediately looks for a way out of this conversation.

        “W-Well, I mean he did most of the work and I barely did—”

        “We could use your help against that monster outside!”

        “We aren’t escaping!” Instead of the elf, it’s Katia saying it this time.

        “We are going to wait for Jack to get here. You’ll just have to trust me. He’s brave, courageous, and selfless. From the moment I saw him in town, I could sense that he wanted to help people, but not for money or for fame or for specific people he liked, he does it because he wants to. ...He would do anything to save us.” From the genuine look in her eyes, you can tell she’s speaking from the heart. You slowly look away, gently walking toward the exit.

        “Wow. Seems people rely on you. Makes you feel like some big hero, doesn’t it? Don’t let them down by dying, now. That just wouldn’t be nice, would it?” Her sarcastic tone slightly annoys you, but you can’t help but smile a little on the inside. It eases the tension for right now.

        You peer around, taking in the changed appearances of the lands. A disturbing beige cloaks the land, with little particles floating everywhere. The entire place gives you a sense of uneasiness.

        “My, my, how the twilight looks great today! I wonder if it’s a sign of good luck.” Twilight? Is that what this twisted and dark realm is called? You look back up at Midna.

        “Oh, that’s right. You still don’t know what’s going on. Well, good. I’d like to keep it that way. As promised, I’ll help you with what you need. I’ll assume you want the twilight gone from your realm. Well, to do that, you’ll need to understand why the twilight is here in the first place.” You hear a ghastly singing resonating across the lands.

        “Right on cue. I guess it’s up to you to determine what that sound is.” You feel as though she doesn’t really know what’s going on herself. You decide to play along. Before you can listen and follow any kind of noise, though, you’ve got a guard to take care of. It’s one of those monsters again. You target him, growling. Midna takes notice.

        “Those are Twilit Messengers. They don’t really have a weak point that I know of, so have at it.” You walk up to it, ready to pounce on your opponent. Only then does a portal open in the sky, dropping two more of them. Midna leaves the comfort of your back. You look behind you. She’s hanging out on the edge of the fence.

        “Well, show me your skills, oh great one.” Ugh. You’ll worry about her later. Right now, you’ve got three, big problems to worry about instead. You know that taking down two will prompt the remaining one to resurrect them. You also know, or don’t know, how to take down two at the same time as a wolf. It would be easier if you could make use of your sword that you no longer have. You look at Midna for help.

        “Not accustomed to being a wolf? That’ll put a dent in my plan…” She thinks about it.

        “I mean, if you’re useless as a wolf, I have no reason to help you. Why, I could just sit here and watch you inevitably die to these creatures…” That doesn’t sound like fun.

        “But, I suppose it’s my turn to be generous. After all, you could still prove to be useful.” Great. You’ve gone from being an asset to a liability. She shoots some type of beam at you. You begin to dematerialize… and it’s not as painful as you thought it would be. Your hearing goes, then your vision, and now you no longer feel the ground beneath you…

        …

        You wake up. You shake your head a little bit. What a weird feeling that was.

        You look around for Midna. She’s nowhere to be seen. In fact, you have no idea where _you_ are. You glance around at your surroundings. You see great, big stone walls… you’re near Kvatch!

        You walk towards the town. A figure shows itself to you.

        “Hey! Don’t think for a second that I abandoned you. How would my mission get done if I did?” Get on with it.

        “So, here we are. The town where we first met. I’ve decided that, if you can’t handle yourself in a battle, then I’ll just have to get weapons for myself… you’ll be getting them, of course.” Great. You attempt your best wolf eye roll.

        “I just need a sword and a shield. You can find them for me.” She shrinks into your shadow. That’s where she was? Neat. You walk up to the Southern gate of Kvatch. Hmm… you slow to a stop. You notice guards lined up along the threshold of the gate. Midna comes back out.

        “Hmm… looks like the security here is tighter than I thought. Perhaps there’s something happening in town, or…?” She leaves you to your thoughts. You note a patch of thick grass near the entrance. You do your best to squat to a prone position, shuffling closer while still in the long grass.

        “Ern 's 'n pion.” You can’t make anything out. You move closer.

        “Eveyne is in position.” Eveyne? Who's that? You still can’t decipher the conversation. You inch closer, nearing the edge of the grass.

        “Everyone is in position. Defenses along the wall are ready. Anything that comes out of that big barrier, consider it dead.”

        “I see, sir. We will fortify our position.”

        “Good luck, men.” You back away. Midna has something to say.

        “So, they won’t budge? Not even for a snack break? Looks like we’ll need to find a different way in.” She shrinks to your shadow. You back up and look at the bigger picture. The wall is guarded by lots of, well, _guards_. They’re tightly packed, but you notice a spot on the wall with a break in the patrol. You run closer to it. Midna reveals herself.

        “Looks like their patrol isn’t as secure as they hoped. Let’s use it to our advantage.” You climb up the nearest rock.

        “What are you trying to do? Leap over the entire wall?... That’s not a bad idea, actually. Here, I’ve got an idea.” She floats up to a crack in the wall, which could serve as a platform.

        “Use your target-y thing and jump to me. I’ll help you scale the wall. Be quick, though. This wall looks on the verge of crumbling.” You target her. You position yourself on the rock as far forward as possible. You leap… and stick the landing! Amazing, but you aren’t done yet. You aim for her next position: a different platform on the wall. You jump again and land. Now for the final jump. This one will land you on the wall itself. You jump and almost miss. You snag the corner of the stone wall with your paws. You hoist yourself up the rest of the way.

        “Nice work!” She could be a little quieter. You look to your right. The guards heard her.

        “Foul beast! Come here!” She returns to your shadow. They charge at you, sword in hand. You need to stop them. You look at the wall. It’s already structurally unsound. You position your paws on a safe part of the wall and push your back paws into the wall. As the cracked makeshift platforms in the wall did, the entire wall crumbles to the ground. The guards stop, nearly toppling into the debris.

        “Wolf!!!” You need to get out of here. The guards on your left notice the yelling. You look to the guard tower in front of you. A crack exists between the wall of the tower and the floor in the wall. It’s been filled in with sand. It appears to be your lucky day. You dig without haste, crawling into the watchtower successfully.

        Now on the inside of the town, Midna departs from your shadow.

        “That was some quick thinking. Not like I couldn’t have done it, but still.” You’ll take the compliment.

        “Now then. Onward, to the store!... That’s where they sell swords and shields, right?” You don’t know about swords, but a shield exists in the store. You bought one of the last ones. Coincidentally, that one was smashed across Midna’s face.

        You slowly inch across town, hiding in shadows, trying to stay out of the guards’ ways. You look around the store. You can’t open doors, but you can certainly dig. That, however, doesn’t seem to be happening.

        “What’s the holdup,” Midna asks as you contemplate a way in.

        “Don’t rely on digging in to get you everywhere.” She looks around.

        “What about that window up there?” She looks around the window.

        “That roof might get you close enough.” You might as well give it a shot. _That roof_ is a little far from the window, especially since there’s a whole pathway between them, but you’ve scaled a wall, so a little pathway shouldn’t be too hard.

        After a little bit of searching, you manage to find a low enough roof and, with the help of Midna, jump up onto it. Now, you jump from roof to roof. You jump up to another higher roof, getting you to a second story. You’re now at the height of the window. Midna floats right above it, giving you a target to jump to. You leap at her, the angle of your jump bringing you down. You crash right through the window. Midna follows you through the new opening.

        “Nothing a little breaking and entering can’t solve. Let’s just hope nobody heard that.” If they did, the best option would be to get out as fast as possible. Luckily, the window led right into the storage attic of the store. You search around for a shield. It doesn’t take long, for a shield is propped against one of the storage crates. Midna takes a look.

        “Hmm… This’ll do. I just wish it wasn’t made of wood.” There’s a marking on the shield. You know this marking. It pops up in old legends told by people all over Cyrodiil. It’s was apparently used by someone… important. You can’t really recall the tale. You do know, however, that it makes this shield highly valued and one of a kind. You wonder how the shopkeeper managed to get her hands on this. You also feel kind of bad for taking such a valuable item. Midna zaps it with her magic and it dematerializes on the spot.

        “Okay, now let’s move on to a sword. It looks like there isn’t one in here, so we’ll have to look elsewhere.” Drat. You were hoping to kill two birds with one stone. You target her and leap out of the window you came crashing through just moments ago. You land outside, stepping onto the path. You hear… the sound of someone pulling out a blade. You turn around, targeting whatever foe might be attacking you. You snarl at the figure until you realize it’s the shopkeeper.

        “Monster! How dare you ransack me! Get out of here! Shoo!” She waves the sword in the air. She takes a few swings, nearly cutting off some of your fur in the process. You don’t want to hurt her, but you also don’t want to attract any attention over here, so you need to think of something and quick. You notice a nearby tree with a beehive hanging from a lower branch. You don’t know what’ll happen, but you’ve got to give it a try. She moves closer, swinging the sword in your direction.

        “Get away! Shoo!” She falls right into your trap. You headbutt the tree. Before she can even question your antics, a beehive falls right in front of her. She yells in fear, dropping the sword and running away from the vengeful bees. Surprisingly, none of them came after you.

        “Help! Bees!” Her voice trails off. She runs back into her shop, closing the door behind her. You stand there, watching it unfold. The bees decide to return to their hive. Midna departs from your shadow.

        “What are you doing?! They’re coming back!... Hold on. Maybe this wasn’t a complete waste of time!” She shoots sparks at the sword, dematerializing it as well.

        “Now, let’s get out of here.” You run toward the watchtower, making a hasty retreat.

        You’ve returned to the front of Kvatch.

        “Sword… Check. Shield… Check. Alright, now let’s return to the twilight.” She floats toward the barrier and turns around.

        “Ready?” Ready for what? You bark an affirmative yes.

        “Okay…” She crosses the barrier. You patiently sit and wait. You can’t believe she’s trying to remove the barrier all by herself. Maybe you misjudged her—AHHH!!!

        …

        You wake up. You move to a standing position, shaking your head. Something drops onto your back. You peer behind you.

        “So, how do I use this stuff?” She picks up the sword from your back… from the blade. She swings it, the hilt coming dangerously close to your head.

        “No. That doesn’t seem very effective.” Good. Maybe she’ll stop.

        “The weapons from your world don’t seem very good.” Your world? Does she live in the twilight?

        “What about this shield?” She picks it up.

        “Is this for protection? Where does it go? If I needed to protect something, it’d be my face…” She places the shield on her face.

        “Hmm… this really isn’t my style, though.” She throws the sword and shield down.

        “I guess these _weapons_ aren’t really weapons after all. Whatever. I’ll just hold onto them for you.” The sword and shield disappear. You hear the singing again.

        “I suppose it’s time. Hopefully now you won’t get stopped by some Twilit Messengers.” You listen for the noise. It’s seems to be coming from your left. You track down the sound, following it into the deep reaches of the forest east of Anvil.

        You stumble upon what looks like, to you, some ancient ruins. The singing increases in sound. You peer around the ruins for any possible causes, so maybe you can shut it up. Your attention is drawn to the floating, golden balls of light in the sky. You walk closer. Yep. This is definitely where the singing is coming from. You can’t reach it from here. You bark at it to see if it reacts.

        “...H...Hello…?” That… was _not_ what you were expecting. You bark again. Louder.

        “Who’s… Who’s there…?” You bark once more. _Maybe it can read my mind_ . You fill it with good intentions. _Peaceful wolf_.

        “Are…Are you trying to kill me?” Not at all.

        “Good…End my suffering…I’ve been forsaken to rot in this realm, so make it quick…” A little optimism might help. Midna tries to help. She departs from your shadow.

        “We aren’t looking to hurt you at all, sir. Or ma’am.” Hmm. Maybe this is what Midna was looking for.

        “Oh… Really…?”

        “Is something troubling you?”

        “...Why, yes… Something is troubling me…” You wait for a response.

        “I… don’t have much time. Please… take this…” **You’ve obtained the** **_Vessel of Tears_ ** **.** You have… no idea what this does.

        “Take this vessel… and fill it with the light that was stolen from me… Please… O… Great…” ...It seems he couldn’t finish. Looks like you have some light finding to do. You look at the vessel. 18 vessels. Okay. That’s a lot, but you’re sure that finding them won’t be that hard. They’re most likely all in Anvil. You dread the idea of them being scattered all about Tamriel. You begin to walk off. Midna stops you.

        “Hey, hey, hey! Where are you going? You’re here to help _me_. You don’t have time to help some other people out of the kindness of your heart.” You want to tell her that she’s not on the verge of death, but alas; you’re a wolf. You bark at her passively, but forcefully.

        “...Fine. But we’re getting _right back_ to what I need. Deal?” You nod.

        “Okay.” She returns to her usual place upon your back. You decide to stop by Fort Strand first. On your way there, you encounter enemies. Then, you destroy them. You took a few nicks, but nonetheless get the job done. You arrive. Nothing out of the ordinary. Just a bunch of old stonework. As you move around the ruins, you… **_sense_ ** something. You hone your senses. You see it. A small, bug-like creature skitting across the ground. You approach it, trying to gain the element of surprise. You pounce, chomping through its exoskeleton exterior. Dead. Easy-peasy. You toss it to the side. It falls onto its back. It makes one last hiss before exploding into thin air. Unlike the Twilit Messengers, a blue essence leaks from it. It arcs upward, forming a ball of bluish white light. You walk into it. It breaks apart, absorbing into your soul. You glance back at your vessel. It’s filled by one.

        “So, that’s where the light is? In these bugs?” She looks at you. You have no idea why, but you feel like… well, you feel like she _knew_ that already.

        “Don’t just stand there! You’ve got 17 more to go!” Can she ever praise you? Whatever. You decide to keep a mental note.

**17 vessels remaining.**

        Most of them must be in town. You round the east and north wall of Anvil, reaching the north gate. You cautiously look around the gate. Those messengers could be anywhere. It looks safe. You sprint toward the gate, hoping not to attract any attention. You peer at the center of the town. A bug sits in the tree.

        “How are we supposed to get him down?” You run up to the tree. The bug rests on the side of the trunk, almost as if it’s waiting for you. You try to get Midna’s attention.

        “Not now! I’m thinking!” You decide to take matters into your own hands. After sizing up the tree, you take a running leap at it, headbutting into the trunk.

        “What are you…?” The entire tree rocks back and forth. The bug pushes off of the trunk and into the air. It erratically zigzags back around and swoops down at you, electrifying his body. He zaps you, knocking you out of your senses. You quickly hone them again and lunge at him. Crunch. Dead. You absorb the light. _Bugs on trees seem to hate when someone bumps into it_. Duly noted.

**16 vessels remaining.**

        The long night stretches before you. However, with the sickly determination that resides within you, you manage to push on through. A glimpse of the morning sun pierces the night sky. You’re tired. You’re hungry. But you just keep on going, _damnit_.

**2 vessels remaining.**

        You approach the front of the jail. Just as before, the three Twili Messengers patrol around the inside of the orange fence. You were hoping to go the whole night without fighting them, but two light bugs have meandered their way in and they don’t look like they want to leave. You brainstorm many different ways of defeating them, but every single way seems to end with one staying alive. You can only really focus on one at a time. If only…

        “Are you done thinking, dog?” You snarl at her.

        “I’m just saying that I might have an idea to hit them all at once. Well, kind of.” You reluctantly listen.

        “Remember when I could see what you were seeing in the jail? Well, it works the other way around, too.” She’s got your attention.

        “Trust me. I know how to handle them. Just get one down and leave two alive. You’ll see.” For some reason, you’re having a hard time trusting her. You ditch your feeling of reluctance and head in anyway. The orange fence immediately materializes behind you.

        “Okay. Just get close to them. I’ll create something called an ‘energy field’. Get all of them inside of it and I’ll take care of the rest.” Well, at least someone here has an idea. Two of them are grouped together on the right and one idles over on the left. Before you can take action, the left one takes notice of your tomfoolery and begins meandering over to you. You completely ditch the plan of attacking all of them at once… wait a second. You _could_ take out one of them. You’ve done it before and they wouldn’t scream. Maybe if you just left two alive… You spring onto his chest, digging your claws in deep to latch on. You immediately begin ferociously tearing chunks of flesh from him. He wails in pain and defeatedly flops to the ground with a thick, sticky substance leaking out of his wounds.

        “Geez. Do you have to be so ruthless?” Why does she care? You return your attention to the other two and begin sneaking up behind them. Midna spreads an energy field around you, forming quite a large circle, in your opinion. Your sneaking is successful and you manage to get the two messengers in the circle. They turn around, but it’s too late.

        You leap into the air and viciously snag the chest of the left one. You tear a gigantic piece of flesh from him, scratching and clawing all the while. It’s not over yet. The energy field works with your senses and you hop again, doing the same to the only one left standing. You spit out the mouthfuls of flesh onto the ground in victory.

        They immediately transform into the black shapes and swarm into the sky, forming another portal.

        “Just so you know, I can utilize those portals.” Really?

        “Just ask me and I can send you to any portal! … Actually, you can’t really speak, can you?” That does present quite the problem.

        “Just… face in the direction of the portal. I can figure out the rest.” Alright. Seems useful. You finish off the last of the bugs. The vessel, now complete, makes you glow brightly. In a moment, you find yourself back at the ancient ruins.

        You move closer to the grounds of the ancient ruins from earlier in the evening. Your wolf legs are about to give out; you’ve never done this much running before. You tilt your head back and bark loudly into the thick twilight air. The light specks return, ghastly orbiting a bright center before you. Your Vessel of Tears separates from your possession and glides toward the light being. It playfully twirls and curls up as the light spirit absorbs its essence. The spirit begins to glow, hitting your eyes with blinding light. You shield your eyes with both of your paws. You’ll just have to rely on your hearing.

        …

        “As one of Tamriel’s many Light Spirits, I command you to heed my words.” You take your focus off of the dull pain surrounding your eyes and put it on what the light being says.

        “A dark veil has cloaked this land… a darkness even I alone can’t extinguish… No, even the power of the light spirits across all of Tamriel can’t tame this evil unaccompanied… O great chosen one… open your eyes.” You pull your _hands_ away from your face… Your _hands_! You flex your fingers, thankful to be a human again. You peer inquisitively at them. Leather gloves cover your palms and the bases of your forearms. Your eyes move up your arm. On your right, you notice a long, white undershirt sprawling to your wrists. On your left, a protective brace sits on the cuff of your glove. Your attention drifts to your shoulders, eventually pushing past your chest to your legs. A brown shirt rests on your body, while tan pants invade the territory of your brown boots. A belt encases your hips, lined with multiple pockets. Underneath your white undershirt lays a chainmail chestplate.

        “...You are the hero chosen by the Goddesses.” ...You can only stand there in disbelief by the words spoken by this Light Spirit. You have no words; only emotions welling up inside of you. To think, your life was amounting to nothing just a short 24 hours ago. Now, a mystical Light Spirit tells of a prophecy where a hero saves the world. And that hero, apparently, is you.

        “Hero, chosen by the goddesses… I, **Avatchilia** , may have been fortunate enough for your courageous blessing, but I’m afraid the other Light Spirits still need your help. A great evil has covered this land in their realm. The cessation of this realm is of utmost importance. Head **North** and find my friend, **Chorroliath** , and free him of his lightless binds. May the blessings of the Goddesses help you find your way.” Even though the Light Spirit faded away, you stand there, letting it all sink in. You gawk at your clothing once more. _This is the hero’s clothing, huh?_ You look to your left hand. On the back, a strange symbol illuminates an outline of three triangles. The empty space in the middle—the shape of an upside down triangle—glows the brightest. You have no idea what it means but, at this point, any mystical symbol must be a good sign.

        You run into town, ready to greet your friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back, baby! I hope this chapter will stave off your hunger for excitement. I promise I'll be more consistent with these updates. Just give me a chance!


	10. Mini-Chapter: A Tale for the Future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A traumatized Argonian steps foot into an argument that will change her life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little sneak peak at something I've been working on. Don't get too excited now — I have to finish PtA first. However, just to keep things interesting around here, I'll show little previews of this story. (Hint: it's related to PtA)

* * *

 

        Having enough of your company, the architect nonchalantly jaunts down the faded path ahead of him. Likewise, after being sufficiently abhorred by today’s events, you decide to fervently make your way east.

        …

        This place doesn’t look familiar. You’ve tried retracing your steps, but that hasn’t worked thus far. Yep, you’re officially lost. While you attempt to determine where you are, you take notice of a small quarrel approaching the point of dangerous.

        “Hey, what are you doing?” The altercation captures your attention and you can’t help but regard it on your way past. You know it’s not your business, but you’ve always had a knack for adventure and seeing these two bickering reminds you of your book. Although it may not be crime-related, it could certainly serve as additional research.

        You discreetly slink around, hoping to avoid revealing yourself to the two outraged men. You make a mental remark about the offender’s eccentric clothing choice. Maybe he’s an adventurer from distant lands? You situate yourself behind a rugged boulder and watch the action with your notepad between your claws.

        They squabble inside of a wooden shack. Well, it's more of a terribly rotten wooden plank as the ceiling and four struts holding it up. The argument becomes even more heated, pushing it over the edge. The adventurer is the first to make contact and thrusts the victim into a wooden post with exorbitant force, effortlessly splitting the post in half. In an instant, the wooden ceiling gives way, collapsing harshly upon the two individuals. Dust scatters as they promptly drop out of sight, the crumbling ceiling concealing them.

        You gasp and quickly run over to the debris. You hastily sift through the wreck, trying to save the two victims caught in the damage— _Oww!_ You painfully scraped your hand across a nail. You clench your fist in discomfort. You release your fist and gaze over your wound. Blood spills out of the cut. You glance back at the wooden pile before you…

 _Dammit!_ You push through the pain and continue to move the wood aside. Nothing will stop you. Especially not some dumb cut. You unveil a brown strap and halt your perturbed digging.

        “Hey. Could you—*cough*—could you help me?” You hear his voice. Rustic and baritone, yet filled with an… indescribable quality you can’t begin to imagine. However his voice might sound, it certainly sounds like he’s being strangled. You fix your eyes on the strap. _Strangled…?_ You clutch the strap and tug it from it’s wooden constraints. You strain, but eventually the wood gives way. The strap snaps beneath the wood and out of sight.

        “Thank you.” Immediately, the man rises out of the pile.


	11. Absolute Depictions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The book's translation leaves no room for error. . .Or does it?

        You casually walk into town. Your mind constantly loops through everything that has happened in the past few hours. Not only has a light spirit with close connections to the _goddesses,_ whoever they are, told you that you are a chosen hero who is destined to save the world, but you are also fulfilling your lifelong dream of going on an adventure! Your imagination fills your mind with many exciting ideas.

        You’ll go dungeoning and find all sorts of fantastic items that will help you on your way.

        You’ll slay difficult creatures that are faster than you, larger than you, stronger than you, but your smarts and abilities will topple even the worst of villains.

        You’ll meet and save and rescue and talk and team up with hundreds upon hundreds of people, maybe even thousands!

        You’ll learn new techniques along the way, honing and perfecting your already amazing repertoire of skills.

        You’ll save the world, or at least a part of it, and your name will go down in legend.

        Your thoughts wander until your walk comes to a stop. You look to the sky. _Don’t worry, goddesses. You didn’t choose me for nothing. I’ll do it! I’ll make you proud! I’ll defy the odds and never fail! You chose me for a reason after all, right?_

        You sigh deeply. Alright, now it’s time to say goodbye to Katia and Quill.

        Nearly halfway to the castle, you spot some approaching figures in your way. It’s Katia and Quill! How did they escape? They realize it's you, too and Katia nearly tackles you with a hug.

        “Jack! Oh, I’m so glad you’re here!” You return the hug and wrap your arms around her… Alright, it’ll end soon… it goes on for so long, Quill clears her throat.

        “Oh. Uh, sorry.” You both lean away from each other.

        “It was awful, Jack. There were these scary monsters that took us and set fire to the guild so I thought you were dead for sure and they took us to this jail and locked us up and they were so scary I thought they would eat us—” You cut her off.

        “Oh, but you saved us, didn’t you? When we came out, there were no monsters in sight.” You tell her… that you just arrived for the first time. You feel obligated to keep the hero thing a secret. And, on that matter, you decide not to tell them about the whole wolf thing and Midna. It's best if they don't know about it.

        “What? Really? Then… where did they go?”

        “They… must’ve left,” you say. You nervously glance over at Quill, who doesn't seem to be buying it. 

        “Where did you get that clothing,” Quill asks inquisitively, “It looks… familiar.” You have no idea why it might be familiar to her, but it gives you an idea for a good lie.

        “I got it… from the shopkeeper. Yeah. You must’ve seen it from last night.”

        “Wait. Instead of saving us, you thought it would be a good idea to go clothes shopping?!” Katia doesn’t seem to be buying your story, either. Or she is actually just pissed at you for not saving her.

        “Look. That fire burned up my clothing. So, I didn’t want to save you guys naked or anything.” Nice. _Real_ smooth. You might confess to being the hero if your only friendships are at stake.

        “You didn’t even save us! I’m beginning to think I was wrong about you…” You know what she’s talking about. That whole spiel from the jail threw you for a loop. It makes it even worse now because you can’t tell her that you heard it because you’d have to explain the wolf thing… Wait, she doesn’t know that you know!

        “Wait, what are you talking about?”

        Uh… Nothing. Don’t worry about it.” It’s a little tense around here.

        “I guess we’d better head for Chorrol.” Quill tenses up at your recent declaration of objective.

        “Lots of lives depending on us—”

        “We don’t have to go to Chorrol, do we?” Both you and Katia stare at Quill.

        “I mean, uh… it might be dangerous, you know?”

        “I was thinking the same thing, too.” Katia turns to you.

        “What are you two talking about?”

        “After recent events… you know, near death experiences and what not… I’ve been thinking… it’s too dangerous for you to come with me.” A silence follows.

        “What?! Are you kidding?”

        “Katia, please. I can’t be the hero—DO heroic deeds… if you follow me around. That’s just more I have to worry about.”

        “Jack…”

        “If I watched either of you die in front of me, I would never forgive myself. Just, please… stay here and be safe.”

        “Jack.”

        “What?”

        “... There’s no way I’m letting you walk away from here by yourself.” Katia…

        “If _you_ died out there, then I would never forgive _my_ self, right, Quill?”

        “Right.”

        “Come on, Jack. We’re in this together.” You sigh.

        “Okay. If you say so!”

        Cme ths wy—229.5 -128.6— Woah!! Woah. Your brain spazzed out there for a second. You recollect your thoughts. At least you didn’t go unconscious. Nope—you are right here in front of Katia and Quill. Good thing they didn’t notice. In fact, they’re having a pleasant conversation of their own. That message, though… you face a direction. You don't know why, but you really want to go in that direction. You can’t quite beeline it, so you turn around and—

        “Ahh!” You crash right into someone.

        “Oh, I’m so sorry, ma’am. That was a total accident. Are you o—”

        “Alright, Jack. That’s enough.” They know my name? … It’s Sigrid! Although you’re kind of ashamed, you had completely forgotten about her.

        “Sigrid! I’m so glad you're okay!” Katia and Sigrid commence a hug.

        “What have you been doing all this time?”

        “I woke up to the fire in the guild and followed the path back to Anvil.”

        “Wait, you didn't wake me up?”

        “I didn’t have time! Anyway, I quickly passed through the barrier, but it didn’t feel like anything. And when I was on the other side, it’s like everything disappeared. The barrier, I mean.”

        What? When you crossed the barrier, that didn’t happen at all. You wonder if it’s different for her… 

        “Yeah, I was wondering what happened. When we exited the jail, we couldn’t see the barrier anymore and it looked like nothing even happened to Anvil. Even when we were in the jail, light came through one of the windows.” Hmm… maybe it’s not different for them… maybe it’s different for you.

        “After I passed the barrier, I made it here and scoped the place. I snuck past the guards and tried to figure out a way to get you guys out. Then, I heard this loud humming coming from somewhere.”

        “You ignored it, right?” Katia’s getting real fed up with people ignoring how they were in _serious peril._

        “I hate to say it, but curiosity got the best of me. I left the town and followed the noise.” She did? Did she see you?

        “I eventually reached the source… I caught a glimpse of some strange creature and there was a wolf in front of it.” Quill and Katia gasp. You try your best to act surprised. It doesn’t work very well. You might as well try to sell it.

        “What did the creature look like?”

        “I don’t know. It was gone as soon as I laid my eyes upon it. The wolf, though… it had white fur… and something sat upon its back… I couldn’t tell if it was part of it or something else entirely. I got out of there as fast as I could.” Well, you can confirm that she did, in fact, see you last night.

        “Okay, we’ll keep an eye out for a white wolf.”

        “Speaking of that… listen, Jack. I know it’s quite valiant of you to go and risk your life to warn all of these people, but… there’s a darkness that lurks within these shadows… to face these dangers, well… well, it’s just suicide.” Her words pierce a feeling of fear into your mind. Weird, since the darkness she’s describing is _you._

        “I’ll be fine. Trust me. After all, I’ve got Katia and Quill by my side.” You glance back to see them, both assuredly smiling at you.

        “Okay. If you say so…” She still looks quite uneasy.

        “Sigrid, seriously. Is something wrong?” She reaches into her bag.

        “It’s the book, Jack.” She flips to the page you’ve become acquainted with.

        “I translated this section right here…” She points at the words. You vaguely follow along, which doesn’t matter because you can’t understand the language anyway. You listen to her translation.

        “It says ‘Let it be known that this mystifying pattern holds the mark of the goddesses. Those with extraordinary spirit, with undying courage and a gallant heart that seeks the truth, shall see movement upon these pages. If such a figure comes forth, may they conquer the challenges sought by the book and by the goddesses themselves. It is told that the figure may take many forms.’ That’s as far as I got.”

        Nothing you didn’t know already, but… wait, didn’t Katia also see moving shapes? You glance back at her.

        “...Well, I guess I don’t have doubts anymore…,” Quill tensely announces.


End file.
